Drawing inspiration from historical works, which are intentionally kept anonymous, Joshua Petker’s paintings rely instead on their ability to evoke the familiar and uncanny, teasing and tantalizing. Rather than draw specific conclusions from these juxtapositions, his work unleashes an exhilarating proliferation of meanings and pictorial puzzles. The artist offers the history of art and visual culture reshuffled—Picabia, Bronzino, soviet era cartoons. Petker makes these his own and the outcome is a timeless dreamlike mix of perspective and emotionality.
Joshua Petker (b. 1979, Los Angeles, CA) completed his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 2015 and his BFA at Evergreen State College in 2002. He has exhibited his work recently at La Loma Projects, Pasadena, CA; ASHES/ASHES, New York, NY; Park Life Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA; and ACME, Los Angeles, CA. Petker lives and works in Los Angeles.
EXHIBITIONS
The Flirt, May 10 – June 5, 2021
Joshua Petker
- 1979
- Born in Los Angeles, CA
- Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
- 2015
- MFA CalArts, Valencia, CA
- 2002
- BA The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2021
- The Flirt, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2019
- 4 Works, Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Lisa Kehler Projects, Santa Monica, CA
- 2017
- Here Comes the Waiting For the Sun, Monte Vista Projects, Highland Park, CA
- 2015
- Some Hippies and a Hobo, ASHES/ASHES, Los Angeles, CA
- 2014
- Support Systems, 2A Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2013
- Drunk on the Moon, Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- 2012
- Adrift, LeBasse Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Group Exhibitions
- 2021
- Stockholm Sessions, Carl Kostyál Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
- All of Sudden, Galeria Mascota, Aspen, CO
- Good Company: The Remix, Anat Ebgi, curated by Anat Ebgi & Paul Schimmel, Los Angeles, CA
- 2020
- So Far, LaLoma Projects, Pasadena, CA
- 2019
- Dark Mode 2014-2019, ASHES/ASHES, New York, NY
- Freshly Cut and Softly Bound, Vacation Gallery, New York, NY
- 2015
- Hay Nap, Secret Recipe, Los Angeles, CA
- Art.MFA.15, curated by Sarah Leher-Graiwer, Los Angeles, CA
- Incognito, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
- Face It, Full Haus, Silverlake, CA
- 2012
- About Face, ACME. Gallery, curated by Daniel Weinberg, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Press
- 2021
- Malone, Tyler. "Joshua Petker." Artforum. May 19. (Link)
- "The Flirt." Whitewaller. May.
- Pingel, Maile. "SAVE THE DATE “PURPLE PAINTINGS” AT ANAT EBGI." Luxe. May.
- Bogojev, Sasha. "The Flirt: A Conversation With Joshua Petker." April 28. (Link)
- 2015
- Knight, Christopher. "Review: Disrupting the conventional at Joshua Petker’s Ashes/Ashes." Los Angeles Times. August 12.
- Plenge, Sharsten. "Last Look: Some Hippies And A Hobo." Woah. September 13.

Oil on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Detail

Oil on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Detail


Oil and acrylic on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm



Oil and acrylic on linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Detail


Oil and acrylic on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Detail

Oil and acrylic on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil and acrylic on linen 36 x 36 inches / 91.4 x 91.4 cm



Oil and acrylic on linen 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil and acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 inches / 91.4 x 91.4 cm


Acrylic on Linen 20 x 16 inches / 50.8 x 40.6 cm

Oil and acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil and acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil and acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm

Oil and acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 inches / 121.9 x 91.4 cm
BIOGRAPHY
Drawing inspiration from historical works, which are intentionally kept anonymous, Joshua Petker’s paintings rely instead on their ability to evoke the familiar and uncanny, teasing and tantalizing. Rather than draw specific conclusions from these juxtapositions, his work unleashes an exhilarating proliferation of meanings and pictorial puzzles. The artist offers the history of art and visual culture reshuffled—Picabia, Bronzino, soviet era cartoons. Petker makes these his own and the outcome is a timeless dreamlike mix of perspective and emotionality.
Joshua Petker (b. 1979, Los Angeles, CA) completed his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 2015 and his BFA at Evergreen State College in 2002. He has exhibited his work recently at La Loma Projects, Pasadena, CA; ASHES/ASHES, New York, NY; Park Life Gallery, San Francisco, CA; Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA; and ACME, Los Angeles, CA. Petker lives and works in Los Angeles.
EXHIBITIONS
The Flirt, May 10 – June 5, 2021
CV
Joshua Petker
- 1979
- Born in Los Angeles, CA
- Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
Education
- 2015
- MFA CalArts, Valencia, CA
- 2002
- BA The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA
Selected Solo Exhibitions
- 2021
- The Flirt, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA
- 2019
- 4 Works, Art Los Angeles Contemporary, Lisa Kehler Projects, Santa Monica, CA
- 2017
- Here Comes the Waiting For the Sun, Monte Vista Projects, Highland Park, CA
- 2015
- Some Hippies and a Hobo, ASHES/ASHES, Los Angeles, CA
- 2014
- Support Systems, 2A Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2013
- Drunk on the Moon, Shooting Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- 2012
- Adrift, LeBasse Projects, Los Angeles, CA
Group Exhibitions
- 2021
- Stockholm Sessions, Carl Kostyál Gallery, Stockholm, Sweden
- All of Sudden, Galeria Mascota, Aspen, CO
- Good Company: The Remix, Anat Ebgi, curated by Anat Ebgi & Paul Schimmel, Los Angeles, CA
- 2020
- So Far, LaLoma Projects, Pasadena, CA
- 2019
- Dark Mode 2014-2019, ASHES/ASHES, New York, NY
- Freshly Cut and Softly Bound, Vacation Gallery, New York, NY
- 2015
- Hay Nap, Secret Recipe, Los Angeles, CA
- Art.MFA.15, curated by Sarah Leher-Graiwer, Los Angeles, CA
- Incognito, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA
- Face It, Full Haus, Silverlake, CA
- 2012
- About Face, ACME. Gallery, curated by Daniel Weinberg, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Press
- 2021
- Malone, Tyler. "Joshua Petker." Artforum. May 19. (Link)
- "The Flirt." Whitewaller. May.
- Pingel, Maile. "SAVE THE DATE “PURPLE PAINTINGS” AT ANAT EBGI." Luxe. May.
- Bogojev, Sasha. "The Flirt: A Conversation With Joshua Petker." April 28. (Link)
- 2015
- Knight, Christopher. "Review: Disrupting the conventional at Joshua Petker’s Ashes/Ashes." Los Angeles Times. August 12.
- Plenge, Sharsten. "Last Look: Some Hippies And A Hobo." Woah. September 13.