Artist Joe Fay (b. 1950, Newport RI) lives and works in Livingston, Montana. Fay began exhibiting his work in 1981 in Los Angeles, CA, where he lived with his wife. After completing an artist residency at Yellowstone National Park, Joe and his family decided to move permanently to Livingston, Montana.
From painting on polyurethane foam, to aluminum and wood sculpture, to monoprinting and relief painting, Joe Fay has explored a multitude of mediums throughout his career. His recognizable technique of pulling wet paint into wet paint with brushes or nails allows him to create the spindly, biomorphic landscapes that surround his subject matter. The subjects of his paintings—from forest critters to folklore characters—promote his alternative fantasies and stories as they are subsequently submerged within Fay’s swirling, organic color fields.
His work is deeply influenced by primitive art, abstract expressionism, simple forms, and current events. Since his relocation to Montana, Fay has become enamored with the birds and wildlife he sees while flyfishing, hiking, and backpacking in Montana, subject matter that has weaved it’s way into his paintings.
Joe Fay has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Roy Boyd Gallery of Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, IL; Richard Green Gallert of New Yor, NY and Los Angeles, CA; Craig Krull Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, among others and included in group exhibitions at 188ART, Shanghai, China and Tsingtao, China and Hangzhou, China; Fresno Art Museum, Fresno, CA; Fine Arts Museum, San Franscisco, CA; Galerie Bhak Young Duk, Seoul, Korea, among others. Fay’s work is included in numerous public collections, including the collections of Madison Art Center, Madison WI; Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ; Santa Fe Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM; and NTT, Tokyo Japan.