Joseph Styles

Exhibiting for the first time in 20 years, artist Joseph Styles secured immediate acclaim for his work in Sonoma county art circles when judges awarded him an Honorable Mention award for “Totem” at the opening of this year’s 7th annual Cloverdale Sculpture Exhibit. Styles studied fine arts and environmental design at University of Colorado at Boulder before receiving his architectural degree from the Southern California Institute of Architecture, where he studied in Los Angeles and in Lugano, Switzerland. He has spent 15+ years in design, construction, industrial design, and furniture making.

“Totem” is constructed of mild steel and polished chrome. In “Totem”, Styles explores Heraldry and Totemic symbols, and how those have evolved into today’s cultural symbols. The piece explores the formal and functional relationships between dwelling, monument, and cultural statement through the use of allegorical forms and proportions.

Styles believes that architecture and sculpture are inextricably bound. Both begin as un-measurable, go through measurable processes in the design stage, yet both in the end must return to an un-measurable state. The laws of nature and the methods of engineering and construction must be followed, yet when the form is completed and becomes a part of being, it again evokes un-measurable qualities as the spirit of its existence takes over. Driven by his love of materials and the respect of building craft, Styles strives to create works which are engaging and site-specific, with a strong sense of architectural scale. Exploration of the dialogue between technique, form, material and story remains at the core of all his work.

Joseph Styles

Photo by Tedd Peterson