EDUCATION:
2022-present, City and Guilds of London Art School, London, England
2016-2017: The Art Students League of New York, New York, NY
1997-1999, University of Houston, Houston, TX.
BOOK DEAL: thanks to the guidance of the genius Jessica Hopper, I am THRILLED to announce that myself and writer extraordinaire Alex Pappademas have signed with the University of Texas Press American Music Series to publish "Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Soul Survivors from the Songs of Steely Dan" in Spring 2023. Quantum Criminals is an art book about Steely Dan, and an entirely different type of music book in general. I have painted over 100 pieces for the book, and the pieces are paired with Alex’s brilliant writing on The Dan, all organized and anchored through the foci of these characters.
ADDITIONAL BOOKS THAT INCLUDE MY WORK:
"The Beautiful Book of Exquisite Corpses" (Ed. Gavin Edwards, Penguin Books, 2018), “Cats Rock: Felines in Contemporary Art and Pop Culture” (Ed. Elizabeth Daley, Abrams Books, 2019), “For Jason Polan” (INTERNS, 2020), “Bad Motherfucker: The Life and Movies of Samuel L. Jackson, The Coolest Man In Hollywood” (Ed. Gavin Edwards, Hachette Books, 2021).
PODCAST APPEARANCES:
I Like Your Work Podcast, In This Direction, Lifting the League
INTERVIEWS, PRESS:
Lit Hub, Creative Boom, 20x200 In The Studio, Yay, You!, Big Cartel Blog, Brooklyn Magazine, Uses This, Day’s Plays, Portland Monthly, Architectural Digest, Juxtapoz, Holiday Club, Under the Radar, Paste Magazine, Onion A.V. Club, Apartment Therapy, Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, Portland Mercury, Willamette Week, The Days of Lore, Pop the Artist.
“To say Joan LeMay is ‘a breath of fresh air’ would be an egregious understatement. This big-hearted, ebullient artist is more like a jet stream—10 minutes in her company is enough to propel you through the rest of your day with a smile on your face and an uncharacteristically can-do attitude… It’s not surprising that her penetrating warmth and positive energy comes across in her paintings and illustrations. LeMay is a gifted medium, channeling her distinctive personality into the art she produces. The resulting work is pure, unfiltered, and utterly contagious. “ —20x200
“These are just so witty and fun! We need space for that in the art world. There's something in the spirit of Warhol and Keith Haring here yet completely original. I love that Joan wrote on one of the blocks, ‘just vitamins’ as if to say ‘it is what it is; nothing more, nothing less’ - then I had a chuckle when I saw the title. I am someone who struggles with lengthy menus so I found these both hilarious and potentially useful! I just adore them.” —Krista Scenna, curator and co-owner of Ground Floor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY on Joan’s The Original Breakfast Deciders editioned work
“Like a modern-day Matisse or Gaugain, Joan uses a super bright palate to translate her love of the figures she captures on canvas. “ —Big Cartel Blog
“In recent years, her paintings have gotten louder, brighter and bolder, and as a long-time fan of her work, it has been energizing and inspiring to watch.” — Yay You
“Joan LeMay has always been magnetically drawn to portraiture. ‘One of the things I most love about creating it is bringing something into existence that brings comfort and joy to the owner,’ explains the artist and illustrator.” —CreativeBoom
“I’ve seen scarier.”--John Waters on Joan’s portrait of him
“I love the painting, it’s just perfect”--Amy Sedaris on Joan’s portrait of her
“I love this! Thank you!”--New York Magazine Art Critic Jerry Saltz on the unsolicited portrait Joan painted of him
TELEVISION-ISH:
The Colbert Report with Stephen Colbert (The wonderful Ben Gibbard performed songs from his fantastic solo album Former Lives; I did the artwork, which was made into a set, so TECHNICALLY my artwork was on The Colbert Report), the TODAY show (the great documentary “It’s Not A Burden” was profiled, and I painted the stripes on the poster, so TECHNICALLY, something I painted was on the TODAY show), Good Morning America (see above).
ILLUSTRATION CLIENTS:
Topic, Vice, Little Engines, Portland Monthly, Racquet Magazine, Lenny, Damn Joan, Punch Drink, Inside Hook, Paste Magazine, Broadly, Bust, Houston Chronicle, Portland Mercury, The Stranger.
INDEPENDENT FILM CLIENTS, CREATIVE AGENCIES AND OTHER CORPORATE CLIENTS:
Greenie Films, Concacaf, Lebasse Projects, Novation, Emily Katz/Modern Macrame, MLM LLC, Jamie Walters Interior Design, Beats The Film.
ALBUM ARTWORK:
Benjamin Gibbard (Barsuk Records, Atlantic Records), Dave Depper (Jackpot Records, City Slang), Laura Gibson (Barsuk Records), Port Vale (Ojet Records), Jennifer O’Connor (Kiam Records), Clint Michigan (Kiam Records).
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
2021
Provincetown Art Association & Museum, Provincetown, MA. Chris McCarthy In Conversation With the Filmmakers and Families of “It’s Not A Burden”; filmmaker Michelle Boyaner discusses artwork created for the film as part of the evening. Three prints of paintings made for the film and one new painting on view.
2018
Showboat Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. "Just Kidding Reversed" group show w/ Derek Erdman, Ashley Armitage and Beth Hoeckel (panoramic installation view by Jim Newberry here)
2017
HiFi, New York, NY. “New Paintings For You”, solo show.
Showboat Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. “Sound Affects” group show w/Jess Rotter, Sean Pecknold, Desi Moore, Amelia Bauer, others.
2016
Manhattan Borough President’s Office, Brooklyn, NY. “Works on Paper” group show.
2015
Monstrosity Gallery, Austin, TX. “Safety In Numbers” Group show w/ Jad Fair, Tim Kerr.
Brouwerij Lane, Brooklyn, NY. “Accumulus Nimbus” Solo show.
Oslo, Brooklyn, NY. Solo show.
2012
Four Eyes Art Collective, Los Angeles, CA. “An Art Show In LA”, collaboration with photographer Ashley Anthony. Group show.
Derek Erdman’s International House of Paintings, Seattle, WA. “#1 Inside Job Let’s Roll”. Group show w/Derek Erdman, Jason Polan.
2011
Tiga, Portland, OR. “In Likeness” solo show.
Disjecta Contemporary Art, Portland, OR. Group show.
Albina Press, Portland, OR. “What Comes After Yes: Women Artists of the Pacific Northwest” juried group exhibition, Siren Nation Fest.
The Woods, Portland, OR. Group show.
Ghost Gallery, Seattle, WA. Group show.
HiFi, New York City, NY. “150” solo show.
2010
The Woods, Portland, OR. Solo show.
Mississippi Studios, Portland, OR. “Big Doodles/Little Things” group show w/Danny Seim.
2009
Tether Gallery, Seattle, WA. “Effrontery” solo show.
Cascadia Contemporary, Anacortes, WA. “Contretemps” solo show.
PDX Salon, Portland, OR. “Cover Cover Cover” group show.
2008
The Anne Bonney, Seattle, WA. “House of Song” illustration & reading;words by Aja Pecknold, illustrations by Joan LeMay.
Velouria Gallery, Seattle, WA. Solo show.
Solo Bar, Seattle, WA. Solo show.
2007
Medicine Park Gallery, Chicago, IL. “Flawed” Group show with Derek Erdman.
Crocodile, Seattle, WA. Solo show.
2006
Kunst Kunst Gallery, Koln, Germany. “KickAss Kunst Under 100″ group show.
Unitard Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. “Chuxed” group show with Derek Erdman and Beth Hoeckel.
2005
Glass House, Pomona, CA. Group show.
1999
Blaffer Gallery, Houston, TX. Group show.
RESIDENCIES:
Little Engines Artist In Residence, Summer 2021