About the Artist

Joseph Vogel was born in El Paso, Texas in 1950. Throughout his youth he lived in various southwest areas; Buckeye, Arizona, Phoenix, Arizona and Houston, Texas. After high school, Joe was drafted into the United States Army during the height of the Viet Nam War. Joe was sent to the Republic of Viet Nam where he served from 1970 to 1971. After fifteen months active duty, Joe was honorably discharged and returned to Texas where he enrolled at the University of Houston.

Interrupting his studies in 1978, Joe apprenticed in the New York studio of Italian sculptor, Salvatore Scarpitta. A second apprenticeship began in October of 1985 with nationally known sculptor James Surls, also from Texas. This apprenticeship continued until September of 1986.

Joseph is currently working out of his studio in Houston. From there he travels nationally as an art critic, most recently as visiting critic for first year graduate students at the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute of Art.

About the Sculpture

Joseph's art ranges in size from small to monumental. He uses several materials, however he generally works in steel, limestone, granite and wood. The underlying theme in his work is the embodiment of organisms, both living and fossilized, found in the deserts of the Southwest. To arrive at the finished sculpture, Joe employs a process of bending steel plates and bars, attaching metal to stone, and synthesizing the components into an image.

Exhibitions

One Man Show, Purple Sage, Wimberley, Texas 1988

Ming Red, One Man Exhibit, Houston Ballet Academy, Houston, Texas 1987

Galveston Mardi Gras, Galveston, Texas 1987

Texas Sculptors, Longview Museum, Longview, Texas 1987

One Man Show, The Art Studio, Beaumont, Texas 1987

A Houston Dozen, The Art Studio, Beaumont, Texas 1986

Fourth Annual Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition, Abilene, Texas 1986

Diverse Works Outdoor Exhibition, Houston, Texas 1984

A Salute to Houston Artists, Midtown, Houston, Texas 1983

Connemara, Dallas, Texas, 1983

Fourth Texas Sculpture Symposium, Austin, Texas 1983

Sum Fest , Houston, Texas 1982

20/20 Exhibition, Houston, Texas 1981

Fall Opening of the Houston Ballet, Jones Hall, Houston, Texas 1981

Lawndale Invitational Exhibition, Houston, Texas 1981

Lawndale Exhibition, Houston, Texas 1980

Main Street 1978, Houston, Texas 1978

Dimensions from Houston, Cedar Valley College, Dallas, Texas 1978

Inaugural Gallery Exhibition, Six Artists, Texas A & M University, Bryan, Texas 1978

Six on Six, Galerie Sur La Ter, University of Houston, Houston, Texas 1977

*press releases and list of collectors available upon request.