Joe Coffey works in oil, graphite and mixed media.  His works, including commissions, are in private collections in Canada, the USA, and England. He has won awards for his art, and within 8 years has been featured in over twenty group exhibitions and held three solo shows.

Born in Caledon East, Ontario; his early years were spent on the family farm. Joe presently resides in Victoria, BC where he devotes his time to his art.

Joe is a self taught artist; he has been called prodigious for his drafting technique.

His domestic animal's and figurative works evoke strong emotional responses through their atmospheric qualities and visual strength. The subjects of the works are silent witnesses to the world and of our own consciousness.

"Divine Goddess, maternal figure, star of one's nightmare... but then again, it's just a cow..." Joe Coffey

Below is a recent interview done by Galina Pembroke with Joe Coffey in New View Magazine:

Thanks to the internet a world of images are accessible, including artwork. I was lucky enough to spot the work of Joe Coffey while surfing the web in early 2005. Soon after I asked him the questions I thought that others would have after seeing his art and reading his resume online at the website of LindaLando Fine Art: www.lindalandofineart.com

GP: When did you become interested in art?

JC: Well, my earliest memories are of drawing and molding animals out of playdough so I guess its always been there. It must be in the genes as my mother was by all accounts a very talented artist (she passed away when I was young) and my uncle (her brother) is an artist. As well, my paternal grandmother painted beautiful landscapes.

GP: Many of your subjects are animals. They're very expressive and vivid, especially juxtaposed against the dark media. Is there a reason you chose to focus on animals in your work? For example, are the animals you've depicted favorites of yours?

JC: I grew up on a farm and I think something just clicked-it was like going back to where I was from originally. When I was very young I didn't have a lot of people around my own age and I suppose I was a bit introverted (friends would now differ..:) so I spent a lot of time with the cows and pigs. I didn't have horses but was always fascinated with them and they ARE my favorite animal. When you are five years old these animals kind of loom over you, especially the cows with their large vacuous eyes. I was kind of transfixed my them-it sounds kind of silly but they were my playmates at times. So I think relating to animals has always been there and perhaps it comes out in my work.

JC: When I decided that I was really going to start focusing on my art as a career I was mostly depicting the human figure. I lived in Vancouver, British Columbia at the time and although I was enjoying what I was doing I was a bit lost as far as what I was striving for. Then i moved to Pender Island, British Columbia-which is quite rural in spots- I had cows grazing in my backyard-literally at times..(laughing out loud.)

GP: What prompted your choice of graphite and mixed media over traditional watercolor or oil?

JC: From earliest childhood, my first love has always been drawing. Like so much of the creative process you tend to build upon each experience, so I started incorporating oils into the drawings-mounting them onto board-so really, I suppose you end up getting something that looks like a painting. The initial drawing still is very much part of the process and you can see it still in the final result. And of course what is so exciting about the creative process is you never know where the next step will lead..:)

GP: Your profile on LindaLando Fine Art notes that you have your art displayed in private galleries in Canada, the USA and England. That's quite impressive! How long have you been displaying your work in galleries and why did you choose these regions?

JC: That really is just by chance. The people who have bought my work just happened to be from there-though i would love to take 6 months and travel through the UK on a working holiday. It's something I want to do in the near future. I've been to England once but not for nearly enough time.

GP: What has been your most rewarding moment as an artist?

GP: That's a tough question to answer as it's hard to think of a specific moment. I think, in itself, the fact that I have chosen this road for myself and how fortunate I am to be able to choose is very rewarding. It is a privilege to be an artist and I could not imagine doing anything else. It kind of becomes more about your identity then just the mechanics of working. It's inside of you and being broke and living off peanut butter is well worth it (laughing out loud).

EXHIBITIONS

Solo Exhibitions

2007 "Masquerade Ball" Winchester Galleries, Victoria, BC
2003 “Route 66”, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
2001 “Joe Coffey”, Kensington Fine Arts, Calgary, Alberta
2000 “Joe Coffey: New Work”, Alexander’s, Sidney, BC


Group Exhibitions
2007 Art for Life - Fine Art Auction, Vancouver, BC
2007 "Horses and Where the Roam" Virginia Christopher Fine art, Calgary, AB (Two person show)
2006 "Motherload" LindaLando Fine Art, Vancouver, BC (Two person show)
2006 Art for Life- Fine Art Auction, Vancouver, BC
2003 Art for Life – Fine Art Auction, Vancouver, BC
“Raven/Shapeshifter, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
“Summer Selections”, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
“Clothes Line Show” Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
2002  “Christmas Show”, Fran Willis Gallery. Victoria, BC
“Summer Selections”, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
Annual Juried Show, Sooke Fine Arts, Sooke, BC
2001 – Present Exhibiting Gallery Artist, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
2001 “The Gift of Art”, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC
John Ramsay Gallery, Vancouver, BC
“Anniversary Show”, Peninsula Gallery, Sidney, BC
“Group Show”, Kensington Fine Art Gallery, Calgary, Alberta
Annual Juried Show, Sooke Fine Arts, Sooke, BC (AWARD)
2000 Annual Juried Show, Sooke Fine Arts, Sooke, BC (AWARD)
“Island Visions”, Sidney, BC, (juried)
“Between the Trees”, Pender Island, BC
“Arting Around III”, Pender Island, BC
1999 Annual Juried Show, Sooke Fine Arts, Sooke, BC
“Between the Trees”, Pender Island, BC
  “Arting Around II”, Pender Island, BC
1998 “Friends For Life”, Vancouver, BC
1997 “Friends For Life”, Vancouver, BC

PRINT, TELEVISION


June, 2003 GO! Chek TV, Magazine Show, Victoria, BC
Victoria Times Colonist, Robert Amos (review)
Dec, 2001 GO! Chek TV, Magazine Show, Victoria, BC
Victoria Times Colonist, Robert Amos (review)
Sept, 2001 Victoria Times Colonist, Robert Amos (review)