Tumble, 2012

Donation to the Harwood art center for the 2012 12x12 fundraiser show.

Living Room

Pictures of my latest project. So glad it's done! So is Chuela, my dog.

Back Porch Compendium, July 2011

This project was made possible by many friends and loved ones. It is a space composed of many types of stone, bricks of various time and origin and recycled concrete... It is also my back porch. Next I plan to build a shade structure over it.



My brother (in red) and dog help to set the pavers.





Details and placement






The finished product.

PAS (Placitas Artist Series), Placitas, NM, May, 2011

top: facing south
bottom: facing north

one day at a time

Joshua Willis, Klee Kitchen, 2011, 12"x12"

Joshua Willis, Phreatophyte, 2011, 18"x18"

Making the Mandala, December 19, 2010

photos by Christopher Barber

Joshua Willis

I begin the outline of the 20' diameter circle for the Open Space Mandala. With the help of 25 people, cooperative weather and roughly 200 migratory birds (Sandhill Cranes and Canada Geese) we begin a creative process and offering.

MANDALA at the Open Space

The mandala which appears before you is composed of grains. These grains are a common supplement in the fall and winter diet of the Sandhill Crane and many other migratory birds. We have created this mandala as an offering to these migratory species, and as a unifying structure for the communities of people who choose to preserve the habitats and species of the Middle Rio Grande.
This mandala is designed to slowly disappear over the course of nine days as migratory birds consume their fill. It was created on December 19th and will remain in place until December 28th at the Open Space Visitor Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Joshua Willis 2010

Lord Byron Poem

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods;
There is a rapture on the lonely shore;
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man less, but Nature more...
--Lord Byron

The Inpost / Outpost Benefit Exhibit Reception November 5th

Had a piece in the show. A link to the INPOST: http://www.outpostspace.org/inpost

Link to the Placitas Artist Series:

http://www.placitasarts.org/may.html

I am preparing a series of new works for this show in May 2011.

Link to the Mariposa Gallery

http://www.mariposa-gallery.com/artists/willis.html

Photo view of the kitchen of Paul Klee's home in Dessau, Germany.
I am using it as inspiration for my next art work. The image is courtesy of James Koehler.

Azul, 2010

This work gets its flavor from a pack trip I just took into the Pecos with my new dog Chuela. The grasses, the forests, the river were a bluegreen hue. A color I need to see and experience with my own eyes.

New Growth, Joshua Willis, Mariposa Gallery, 2010

Nobel

Arroyo

Lost (and Found) in Open Space, Albuquerque, NM, 2010

Countless volunteer clean-up efforts have allowed for a pure experience when enjoying Open Space properties. Illegal dump sites, arroyo debris, river garbage and unofficial shooting ranges are just some examples of the sites we target for clean-up. The fringe of the City of Albuquerque is always expanding. Over decades the technologies that we consume and discard have changed significantly. One can stumble across a range of artifacts while walking in an Open Space property. The Native Americans left pot shards, litchis and skillfully crafted tools behind. The Spanish brought with them metals such as copper and steel. The Europeans brought glass bottles, China and enameled utensils. We discover car parts, tools of various alloy and now even plastic products of modernity.

This show can be seen at the Open Space Visitor Center from March - April 2010

For more details:

http://www.cabq.gov/openspace/LostandFound.html

Migration, Feb. 2010

Wall detail from architecture at Chaco Canyon, January 2010

Curio @ the OSVC, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2010

Grecian, 2010

Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico, November 2009

This work is called "Guns and Roses." It was an enameled bowl, found by a friend and given to me, with bullet holes. This work is 5"x5" and would be considered an ornament.

LAND/ART NEW MEXICO 2009

This link will take you to a show that I am very proud to have brought to life with the help of all the artist participating and 516 arts. The link will lead you to the LAND/ART New Mexico website were you can see all the projects occurring from June - September based on land art. Open Space has sponsored several of the projects which can be viewed as you hike in the Rio Grande Bosque. Please go to the Open Space Visitor Center to collect a map of these site.

www.landartnm.org/open-space.html
or

www.cabq.gov/openspace/LANDART2009.html


Painted Jetty Jacks
Zach Meisner



Arboreal Dome
Benjamin Forgey

Link to West/Southwest

A link to a recent show that I participated in call West/Southwest. The show was set up so that I would be simultaneously displaying work in Los Angeles and Albuquerque. Artists were invited to attend an opening in ABQ. and a closing in LA. The show was very successful and fun. I was please to have been part of the festivities.

www.516arts.org/exhibitions_pages/westsouthwestdetails.html

Outpost June/July 2009, Natural World

My friends Sayrah and Marsaya at the opening.

willis art @ the 516 gallery Albuquerque, NM 2009

Willis art @ the 516 gallery

Willis Bio.

Joshua Willis is a mixed media artist and native of New Mexico. He received his BFA in photography from the University of New Mexico. During his undergraduate years he studied at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland for a one year exchange program. This experience afforded him an encounter with Thomas Cooper, director of the Glasgow School's photography program, who helped hone Willis' artistic perspective. Returning to Albuquerque Willis found that his artistic vision had evolved away from the craft of photography to a more hands on tactile art from. Elements such as balance, harmony, diversity began to form the basis of his art language. Using materials such as scrap metal, wood and paint his work now describes the intrinsic properties found in healthy natural landscapes. Willis believes in nature's ability to return to balance no matter how poorly it is managed. Willis currently works as an Open Space Coordinator. He maintains the gallery at the City of Albuquerque Open Space Visitor Center. His works can be found in many private collections and may be viewed upon request at the Mariposa Gallery in Albuquerque.

Water Table, Wood, Acrylic, 2008