Joel Schechter

I am a longtime artist since childhood, i.e., ever since I could hold a crayon. I do not recall a life without art, most likely because of the influence of my mother who had an incredibly good artist’s eye. As a very young child, simply watching her draw fascinated me. I am energized by doing artwork, and am joyous at making marks in my ink drawings. Hopefully the viewer will sense and share some of my joy and excitement. I often wonder if artwork might actually shift the viewer’s viewpoint on life and the world we live in. Therefore, some of my artwork is humorous, e.g., my collection of ink drawings on buttered toast was prompted by my sense of how troubled our world has become, violence, beheadings, etc. I also have been exploring a series of a more spiritual nature – collections of cathedrals and synagogues. My artwork also explores representations of landscapes, preserving the depiction of recognizable landscape elements, but presenting them in an abstracted manner. The challenges of art are boundless but continue to lead me to new places.

BA Art (fine art) and Pre-Med, Wayne State University, Det., MI
MA Medical Art, Johns Hopkins University, Balto, MD
Ph.D. Anatomy, UCLA, LA, CA

Juried group exhibitions:
Showcase '92 Beaverton, OR.
Magnum Opus '93 Sacramento Fine Arts Center, Carmichael, CA.
California Open '93, Long Beach Arts Gallery, Long Beach, CA.
28th Annual Exhibition at Fine Arts Institute, San Bernardino Museum, Redlands, CA.
California Open '94, Long Beach Arts Gallery, Long Beach, CA.
Brand XXIV Annual Juried Competition, Brand Library & Art Center, Glendale, CA.
Drawings 1994, Los Angeles Harbor College, Wilmington,
CA.
2013 Ink Drawings Upstream People Gallery (Internet site)

One man exhibits:
1975 Watercolors and Figure Drawings at Immaculate Heart College, LA, CA.
1978 Mes Dessins de Paris, George Sand Gallery, LA, CA.,
1993 Fantasy Landscapes, Lindhurst Gallery, Univ. of So. California, LA, CA.