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South African artist: Joe Joubert
curriculum vitae

Born in the Kalahari District of Southern Africa in 1963.
The influence in my art is mostly based on the smooth painting techniques that was used and developed by the Dutch masters. The artist who inspired me was mostly from the Surrealist as well as Metaphysical realism movement. Artist like Hieronymus Bosch, Peter Bruegell, Jean Arp, Max Ernst, Rene Magritte, Salvador Dali and Keith Alexander.
 
The point of departure in my thought process evolves around the confrontation between man and nature and our own human nature. Although my ideas take shape in an imaginary world, Africanism , its images and landscape becomes a very important ingredient. It is not my intent to paint pure nature scenes for the sake of using nature as a subject.
 
Through the use of Surrealistic and Metaphysical realism in my painting style I try to look beyond the mundane and the ordinary, with the challenge to create an extraordinary view wrapped in a translucent layer of mystery. Mysteriousness and positiveness has always been the ultimate goal towards which I strived for in my work. I use a subtle and powerful approach in my thought process, trying to create images that are timeless, thought provoking and elevated in substance.
 
It is my belief that every human being live in several worlds. The physical world, the sensual world and the world of fantasy or the imaginary. To regard the imagination as metaphysics is to think of it as part of life, and to think of it as part of life is to realize the extend of artifice. Unfortunately we do live in a world of reality, but reality has its limits and boundaries, where as the world of the imagination is boundless. There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds. For me as an artist the universe is real but I can't see it. I have to imagine it, and only once I have imagined it, I can be realistic about reproducing it.
 
Surrealism works with subconscious processes, dreams. In the world of dreams and fantasies, every person tries to realize his wishes and concealed abilities. In the surrealistic world we can with the force of our imagination-recreate any image and there are no limits or boundaries for the realization of your most cherished dreams and wishes. Using the force of your imagination; space, dreams and time becomes intertwined.
 
With the use of a metaphysical realism approach, the intend is to depict an alternative reality which engaged most immediately with the unconscious mind. In this style of painting, an illogical reality seemed credible using a sort of alternative logic through the use of intuition, as apposed to the surrealistic imagination dream approach. A new dimensional perception is created.