Geometric art by Smoking Joe Perry
Who is Smoking Joe Perry?
I am a studio artist based in Pittsburgh, PA. USA. I got my start when I was a young kid playing with play-doh, finger painting and mashing crayons into paper. As time has gone on, my art practice has gone through a myriad of shifts and changes through experimentation and pushing myself.
What are your materials of choice?
I like working with a wide variety of materials without bottlenecking myself into on specific medium. I like to consider myself a woodworker, sculptor, fabricator, graphic designer, chemist, color theorist, mathematician and illustrator all at the same time. Exploring with different materials and ideas opens new avenues for me to pursue and constantly push myself in new directions.
More about your art style
The style of art that I make walks a thin line between precision and chaos. I like to incorporate smooth transitioning gradients with no-nonsense geometry and mathematics. Incorporating glitter, phosphorescent pigments, and holographic film adds and extra level of stimuli that changes based off of the viewers location, specific lighting conditions.
Do you have artistic objectives, Joe?
My goal as an artist is to continuously create things that originate in my imagination. The repetition of constantly creating work almost turns into a meditative state where I zone out on existential everyday problems. Art is an escape from daily routines and it ironically becomes a daily routine. Immediately after completing a piece, ill ask myself “how could I improve on this or change it”, which directly forces me into starting another project.
Any advice for other artists?
Don’t be afraid to lose yourself in the process. Don’t make art for sales or fame. Don’t make things to appease others. Be your own toughest critic. You have to live with yourself everyday.
Closing words
Art is the result of how one perceives the world. I feel that we are all constantly absorbing information from every sense and anything that someone creates is how they translate that information into something tangible, whether it be music, film, writing or visual art. We are all just filters and mirrors.
Smoking Joe Perry ★ Art profile
Joe Perry is a Pittsburgh, PA based artist that has been practicing art since the late 1980’s. His media of choice are enamels, acrylics, resin, gold leaf, holographic vinyl, glitter, and exotic wood. Perry’s work is heavily focused on recurring patterns, hypnotic gradient shifts and working in layers that create dramatic depth. Perry draws inspiration from mathematics, geometry, curiosity of the unknown, nature, psychedelics, music, and everyday imagery such as gas station logos, laundry detergent bottles and cereal boxes.
Thank you, Smoking Joe.
Instagram: @smoking_joe_studio
Web: smokingjoestudio.com
