Joe deVera
September 2019
Joe deVera’s works are often attempts to make sense of the absurd theaters of human tragedy; exploring the possible relationships between historiography and art objects, while simultaneously investigating the cultural networks of mass conflict. Having emigrated from the Philippines with his family in order to escape a climate of crushing poverty and government oppression, then further enlisting in the Marines Corps after high school (serving two combat deployments to Iraq in support of the second Gulf War), deVera’s work also become autobiographical observations of power structures and the machines of empire.
His awards/residencies include The University of Iowa Grant Wood Fellowship (2017), the Terra American Art Foundation Summer Fellowship (2016), the Joshua Tree Highlands Art Residency (2015), The Cloud Projects Prize (2015) and The Dave Bown Projects Prize (2014). deVera’s work was also included in the 111th publication of New American Paintings (2014). Joe DeVera received his MFA in Painting and Printmaking from the Yale School of Art (2014) and his BFA in Painting from California State University, Fullerton (2011). He lives and works in Southern California.
