Joshua Dildine

Merging found autobiographical photographs with viciously gestural painting, Joshua Dildine confronts the subject of conventional recollection and familial structure. A fixation shared by society at large, the contemplation of past events and relationships ultimately shapes our psychology moving forward - as a flicker of nostalgia, shame, or glee can be activated by a single sensory cue. With a purposeful cognizance, Dildine mines these memories for the underlying traits that forge our shared humanity: the humor found in the compromising, the endearment found in the aggravating, or the conflict found in the absent. His painterly swaths are as visceral as the family photos they conceal, his vivid palette alluding to the glaring absurdity of our incessant self-analysis and contemplation of the past. In his most recent body of work, Dildine embellishes elements or patterns within the original image in order to create a farcical confrontation with the past - a perspective that is both critical and celebratory. Through this carefully disjointed lens, Dildine creates experiences that are at once present and bygone, and whimsically harnesses nature of our being.

Dildine (b. 1984, CA), received his MFA from Claremont Graduate University (CA). He has been featured in group exhibitions in Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Murfreesboro, as well as the Frederick Weisman Museum of Fine Art (CA). His work is included in the public collection of the Sweeney Art Gallery, University of California Riverside (Riverside, CA), The Frederick Weisman Museum of Fine Art (CA), The Honolulu Art Museum, and The Museum of Art and History (Lancaster, CA). He was also the recipient of the 2010 Claremont Graduate University Award. The artist lives and works in Fresno, CA.