Joseph Sundwall

“Looking back on my 20-year career as an oil painter, I can point to certain impulses that caused me to pursue some particular theme or another for a period of time, then move on to consider some other subject. The impulse to paint portraits or sporting art, animals or genre scenes may look very different to those who see my work, but as the subjects change the impulse is always the same — to get to the essence of the thing: the essence of this moment… the imaginary timeless time in which the painting lives, the timeless moment of its creation. The NOW of NOW.
I find that the work ‘talks’ to me, informing me at every point what needs to be done, so the surfaces of my work vary considerably from painting to painting, often contradicting what I might have in mind at the start of a work —some works require an airy or light touch, some works want the paint applied with a trowel. I’m okay with that.
More than anything I would want the audience to have an experience looking at my work similar to what I had in its creation — with my attention turned to beauty, I become connected to the Beauty that is my true nature, where the inner and the outer become one.”

Joseph lives in Montgomery, NY, with a studio at the Regal Bag Buildi...

Joseph Sundwall was raised near Chicago when the arts were still considered an essential part of a child’s education (his first oil was painted in third grade). When it came time for college he chose the Kansas City Art Institute with the intention of majoring in painting, but after getting a taste of other arts in the first year foundation program, he became fascinated by the peculiar work being done in the graphic design department. The rigorous program was based on the design and color ideas Josef Albers developed at Yale. It included color theory, composition, photography, typography and printing. Of key importance was the development of sensitivity to negative spaces, including the relationship of spaces between forms and within forms. Students were encouraged to consider design less a decorative art than one of problem solving, which should yield a solution relevant to the content and objectives of the problem. It was about being clear and simple in execution. And elegant. Minimalist. BA in Graphic Design, Kansas City Art Institute.

After college, Joseph moved to New York City and worked for several years as a graphic designer and type designer before taking up the study of fine art again. He took oil painting co...

Major awards for Joseph’s work have come from The Ridgewood Art Institute, Artist’s Magazine, Allied Artists, The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists, NJ Equine Artists, Richeson Art Gallery, The Morris Museum, National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society and Oil Painters of America. He is represented by the J.M. Stringer Gallery in Vero Beach, Florida.

“Hudson Valley Artists Association 88th Annual” “Le Cheval Blanc” 6/20 (Old Lyme, CT)
‘Flora and Fauna’ Stringer Gallery (Vero Beach, FL) 3/21
41st Annual Juried Show ‘Levon’ Jan./21 Ridgewood Art Institute (NJ)
“Hudson Valley Artists Association 87th Annual” “Gold at Pirate’s Lane, Gloucester” 6/20 (Old Lyme, CT)
‘Second Place award’ Oil Painters of America “Domestic Tableaux” 2019 Online Showcase
Online OPA? Say What?
‘Honorable Mention’ Face Time – Conn. Soc. Of Portrait Artists “Sugar” 1/19
‘An Artul Union’ Amity Gallery (Warwick, NY, Joseph & Elizabeth Sundwall) 4/19
‘Two Man Show’ Stringer Gallery (Vero Beach, FL) 3/19
‘NJEAA Art of the Horse’ The Gallery (Prallsville Mills, NJ) 5/18
‘38th Annual Open’ Ridgewood Art Institute (Ridgewood, NJ) 1/18
‘37th Annual Fall Exhibit’ Amer.Acad.of Equine Art, Aiken Center for Fine arts (Aiken,SC) 9/17
‘84th Annual’ ...