Joe Peña Statement:
My work explores elements of ethnic identity, including aspects of cultural, familial and social issues, relating to my Mexican heritage. The subject matter, portrayed through various elements of still life, portraiture, and urban landscapes, are a further reference and exploration into personal narratives, as well as traditional and contemporary Mexican customs.
Currently, my work is exploring the use of Nightscapes based on food trucks, store fronts, and other similar venues used as a metaphor for the notion of home as an internal sense of place, not merely a physical location.
Brief Bio:
Prior to receiving my MFA Degree from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi in 2005, I was recruited to assist in the formation of a contemporary art gallery entitled MB Modern in New York City which operated or six years before relocating its business to Houston, TX. Following, I worked at Babcock Galleries (now Driscoll/Babcock Galleries) for four years, which at the time had celebrated its 150th year as a leader in American Modernism and had the distinct privilege of being the oldest gallery in New York City. Both experiences fostered a strong appreciation for historical and contemporary art. Concurrently, I attended private classes with instructors who continued to teach traditional painting and drawing processes which strengthened my studio practices. Living in New York City for such a long period of time, I realized upon my return how distinctive and captivating Texas is. Its culture, traditions, and of course artistic heritage are all unique. In 2006, I was recruited by the City of Corpus Christi to serve in the Department of Public Art and shortly thereafter, assumed the role of Gallery Director at TAMU-CC. Currently I am Associate Professor of Art where I continue to teach traditional methods of painting while also encouraging experimentation. My work has been featured in numerous print and online publications including Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Los Tejanos: Chicano Art from the Collection of Cheech Marin, Guitar Aficionado, Texas Monthly, The Los Angeles Times, The Austin American Statesman, ArtScope New England, and Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education. Selected collections include the Cheech Marin Collection of Art, Los Angeles, CA; James Hutson, Los Angeles, CA; The Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum, Hamilton, OH; La Universidad de Oaxaca, Oaxaca City, Mexico; and the Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX.
Below is an abbreviated version of my CV, but you can also download the full document here. Thank you.
Selected CV:
EDUCATION
2005 MFA, Texas A&M University- Corpus Christi
1993 BFA, Corpus Christi State University, Corpus Christi, TX
PROFESSIONAL POSITION:
5/01/17 – Current. Associate Professor of Art Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi,
TX.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS (2022 - 2014)
2022 Joe Peña: Nocturnal Musings, Redbud Gallery, Houston, TX. (November 2022)
2021 Joe Peña: Nightscapes, Victoria College, Victoria, TX
2020 Joe Peña: The Last Stop Series, Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX
(Received Contemporary Art Month “Cammie” excellence award by the San Antonio
Museum of Art)
Joe Peña: Corpus Nocturns, KSpace Contemporary, Corpus Christi, TX
Joe Peña: Nightfall, University of Incarnate Word, San Antonio, TX
Joe Peña: Recent Work, University of Houston at Victoria, Victoria, TX
(Postponed from March to February 2021 due to Covid-19)
2019 Joe Pena: A Sense of Place, Laredo College, Laredo, TX.
2018 Joe Peña: Summer Nocturnes, Houston Community College, Houston, TX
Camaradas: Pena and Ricardo Ruiz, Mi Vida Loca Gallery, Corpus Christi, TX
2017 Joe Peña: Texas Nocturnes, University of Mary Hardin – Baylor, Belton, TX
Joe Peña: Last Stop, Sul Ross University, Alpine, TX
Joe Peña: Food Trucks at Night, South Texas College, McAllen, TX
Voracious Spaces, Rockport Art Center, Rockport, TX
Joe Peña: Lineage, College of the Mainland, Texas City, TX
2016 Corner Nocturnes in Ink, Leal Art Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2015 Studio Orbits: Ruiz & Pena (two person exhibition), Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus
Christi, TX
2014 Invisible Territory, Avis Frank Gallery, Houston, TX
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS (2023 - 2008)
2023 Soy de Tejas: A Statewide Survey of Latinx Art, Centro Artes Gallery, San Antonio, TX.
2022 The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2021 De Colores: Recent work by Latinx Artists, Johns Creek Art Center, Johns Creek, GA
(Awarded 2nd place)
Viewing Room: Presa House Fifth Year Anniversary Exhibition, Presa House Gallery, San
Antonio, TX
Los Camaradas: Six Texas Painters, South Texas College, McAllen, TX
Is Texas Painting? Painting Symposium, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
Re-Mastered, Galeria Galvan, Corpus Christi, TX
2020 Bruno Andrade: The Legacy of an Artists-Educator, South Texas College, McAllen, TX
2019 Guadalupe, Mi Vida Loca Gallery, Corpus Christi, TX
Open 30 Juried Exhibition, Laredo College, Laredo, TX
Confluence: The Art Faculty Biennial, Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX.
Selections from the Collection: Latino and Latina Heart Work, Art Museum of South
Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
2018 Remembering Bruno, Mi Vida Loca Gallery, Corpus Christi, TX
Portrait Society of America: Texas Exhibition, Breckenridge Fine Arts Center,
Breckenridge, TX.
Los Tejanos: Chicano Art from the Collection of Cheech Marin, Art Museum of South
Texas, Corpus Christi, TX (Traveling Exhibition)
K Space in the House, Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX
2017 Texas Biennial 2017, Austin, TX
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Carlsbad Museum and Art
Center, Carlsbad, NM.
Mexican-American Perspectives, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX
Tidal Shift: Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Art Faculty Biennial, Art Museum of
South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
IV ArtSpace Retrospective, Presa House Gallery, San Antonio, TX
51st Small Sculpture and Drawing Show, Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX.
Hambidge 2017 Art Auction and Gala, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and
Sciences, Atlanta, GA.
2016 Hambidge 2016 Art Auction and Gala, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts and
Sciences, Atlanta, GA
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Amarillo Art Museum,
Amarillo, TX.
2015 Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Art Museum of South
Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Vincent Price Art
Museum, Monterey Park, CA.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Mulvane Art Museum,
Topeka, KS.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Humbolt State University,
Eureka, CA.
Selecciones de la Coleccion Permanente, Art Museum of South Texas,
Corpus Christi, TX
Human Rights & Hispanic Experience Exhibition, Kean University, Union, NJ
2014 Obras de Papel Pequeños, Oaxaca, Mexico
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Texas Tech University,
Lubbock, TX.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Las Cruces Museum of
Art, Las Cruces, NM.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Museum of Contemporary
Art, San Diego, CA.
2013 Hispano-Epiphany, Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, University of Wyoming Art
Museum, Laramie, WY.
Corpus Pluralis: The Department of Art Faculty at TAMUCC, Art Museum of South Texas;
Corpus Christi, TX
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Ellen Noel Art Museum,
Odessa, TX.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Washing & Lee University
Art Museum, Lexington, VA.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Whatcom Museum,
Bellingham, WA.
2012 The Power of Paint, Avis Frank Gallery, Houston, TX
We Are You, Kenkeleba Gallery, New York, NY.
2012 Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Museum of Monterey,
Monterey, CA.
2011 Lone Star College Exhibition, University of Houston-CL, Houston, TX
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, University of Notre Dame,
Notre Dame, IN.
Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection, Mesa Arts Center
Museum, Mesa, AZ.
2010 Drawn Out Death, Talento Bilenque de Houston, Houston, TX
2008 Del Otro Lado, Art League of Houston, TX.
Hunting Art Prize Exhibition, Hunting, Inc., Houston, TX
New Art / Arte Nuevo: San Antonio 2008, University of Texas at San Antonio, San
Antonio, TX
Cataclysm and Creativity: Art in the Age of Uncertainty, Museum of Contemporary Art,
Skopje, Macedonia (February 2008); traveling to Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi,
TX (September 2008)
SELECTED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
Cheech Marin Collection, Los Angeles, CA.
The AltaMed Foundation, Los Angeles, CA.
The Chaney Foundation, Houston, TX
The Sondra Gillman and Celso Gonzalez-Falla Collection
James Hutson Collection, Los Angeles, CA.
La Universidad de Oaxaca, Oaxaca City, Mex.
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, Hamilton, OH
We Are You Project International, New Jersey, NJ
South Texas College, McAllen, TX
Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
Del Mar College, Corpus Christi, TX
Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, TX