06/09/2023
JOSHUA ORSBURN
My practice is predominantly narrative, depicting my relationships both metaphorically and physically, stemming from my experiences as the victim of domestic violence in my childhood and early adolescence. These relationships are sometimes intimate and specific, but mostly symbiotic. Each piece has themes of the fear of being alone, the duplicity of needing people, and the struggle to enjoy one’s own company.
The figures in my work protrude from each other, lay on each other, and even become each other, showing underlying q***r tropes peppered with a sense of humor. This creates a dialogue between the viewer and the characters, whether a quick laugh or an empathetic moment of relatability. This disquieting balance between the realities of abuse, mental illness, and social discomfort and the humor and tenderness depicted creates an underlying tension throughout my practice –a tightrope I continue to explore.
My relationship to print has only deepened as I’ve spent the last decade of my life as a printer. I work with others as intimately as if each piece were my own. The push and pull of the collaborative process only strengthens my desires to produce and look inward to what comes next.
Totem
2022
Lithograph
20” x 32”
Ed 8
Just Another New Mexican Landscape
2019
Lithograph
32” x 24”
Ed 8
For pricing and information, email [email protected]
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