Joshua Huettig is a
self-taught artist and has been painting since 2007. The sudden passing of his
father, and the depression that followed, made him realize that he had to push
out creative energy into the world, because the very nature of creation itself
is making something that is meaningful and living.
Most of the wood that he paints on is pulled out of the Ohio River or is found
in near-by creeks or garbage piles. Using mostly house paint he’s collected
over the years, he paints images that search for the balance between the primitive
and the refined – the spiritual and the crude – the animal and the elegant. His
paintings are full of symbol and narrative. For example, when painting breasts,
Joshua is not painting sexuality in any form, but is illustrating that to walk
having your breast, the furthest physical point of sensitivity, exposed and full-faced
into the world, takes a tremendous courage and confidence - to walk
chest-forward and open is the purest form of honesty and thus, liberation.
Joshua finds self-taught
art to be one the truest expressions of art: there is no middle man, no formal
training - it's simply man and his creation. Joshua believes that the only way
to live authentically is to live openly and expressively with ourselves and
each other. Believing that our greatest task is to rise above ourselves and
create a new horizon for our spirit, Joshua puts these beliefs into his
paintings in hopes that they will spur a reevaluation of our relationship, not
only to ourselves, but to everything. In time, these paintings, like all things,
will decay and disappear - their energy and impact will only come from the way
they inspire us to affect change in our lives at this moment. This moment is
now. Hello, and welcome.
Short Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm2k_uE6twA