Goode relies on the physical canvas beyond the two-dimensionality of the painted medium. Exploring the picture plane and depth of field through the violation of the work’s surface, Goode cuts and slashes through his compositions of expansive blue skies to expose the surface below, creating tension between each layer of canvas. His treatment reveals a dynamic avenue for the viewer to look into the work. With the subtle use of color and repetition of imagery, Goode’s series enhances the viewer’s experience of “seeing through” the canvas. Each work depicting the painterly illusions of the sky unites Goode’s conceptual exploration, the viewer’s perception, and the experience of being drawn beyond the work’s physical plane.
Joe Goode (Oklahoma City, 1937) is often identified with Southern California Pop Art. Goode moved to Los Angeles, CA in 1959 where he attended the Chouinard Art Institute along with his childhood friends Ed Ruscha and Jerry McMillan. In 1962 Goode’s work was included in the first Pop Art show in the United States, along with his contemporaries Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Jim Dine, Phillip Hefferton, Robert Dowd, Edward Ruscha, and Wayne Thiebaud. The groundbreaking exhibition, New Painting of Common Objects, was curated by Walter Hopps at the Pasadena Art Museum (Norton Simon Museum).
Upper East Side, New York, NY