Joel Rea 'Stages' Print Available

Artist: Joel Rea
Title: Stages
Medium: Giclee Print (AP)
Size: 90 x 70 cm
Edition: 5
Price: $550

Joel Rea, born in Teesside, Middlesbrough, England, in 1983, is a highly acclaimed artist whose surreal allegorical oil on canvas works have garnered international recognition. Moving to Australia with his family at the age of two, Rea is recognized as an Australian artist, with his work deeply influenced by the coastline where he was raised. He began focusing on his art career immediately after high school, pursuing formal education at the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art in 2003. During his studies, he earned the Griffith Award for academic excellence and was granted membership in the Golden Key International Honour Society in 2003.

Joel Rea's career began gaining significant momentum shortly after graduation, leading to over two decades of professional painting. A major milestone in his career was when the American magazine Art Business News selected him as one of 30 artists under the age of 30 who were revolutionizing the world of fine arts in 2013. Significant artistic achievements include winning the 2013 ANL Maritime Art Award and the 2014 People's Choice Award for the Black Swan Prize for Portraiture in Australia. He was also selected for the prestigious 2013 Archibald Salon Des Refuses exhibition in Sydney and the Sulman Prize finalist exhibition in 2014, showcasing his standing in the Australian art scene.

Known for his meticulous, detailed, and smooth oil painting techniques, Rea creates scenes exploring the connection between nature and humans. His work frequently features self portraits, tigers, dogs, and powerful, destructive ocean waves. Famous pieces of art by Joel Rea include works titled The Promised Land, Transcend Blue II, and Conquest. His paintings often evoke the feeling of awe or a surreal apocalypse, drawing inspiration from the turbulent Australian coastline.

His exhibition history is extensive, spanning Australia, the United States, and Europe. In 2015, Joel Rea held a significant solo exhibition titled Beasts of Arcadia at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery in New York City. He has exhibited with HOFA Gallery in London in 2020 and 2022, as well as showing his work at the LA Art Show. In 2019, he collaborated with URBAN NATION for Project M/14 in Berlin. He has also been a featured finalist in the Lester Prize for Portraiture at the Art Gallery of Western Australia.