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Joe Radoccia

Human Relationships in a Gay Culture

Joe Radoccia was born in the railroad town of Hornell, New York, in 1960. His family settled in Buffalo, New York. Growing up in a working class environment, in the heart of the “rust belt,” helped shape Radoccia’s personal commitment to communicating social issues with a broader audience, and gave the humanist sensibilities to his figurative paintings.

He studied at Buffalo State College, earned a BS in design, and began working in advertising in New York City. Disenchanted with this industry, he returned to Buffalo to complete an MFA in painting (1985) at the University of Buffalo. Since then, he has been devoting his time to painting.

While in Buffalo, his work was exhibited throughout Western New York, including shows at Hallwalls and The Albright Knox. He taught Design and Fine Art at local colleges and also worked with the exhibits department of the Museum of Science in Buffalo. During that time period, Radoccia’s work addressed such social issues as Apartheid and AIDS. Working with grass-roots and national organizations, he exhibited nationally, as part of “Art Against Apartheid.” He also took part in the traveling exhibition entitled “In the Face of AIDS,” which included Susan Coe and Robert Flint.

After a one year painting sabbatical that took him to Florence, Rome and Venice, Radoccia settled in Brooklyn, New York, and opened his studio. He works on private commissions, mural painting, and exhibit and set design throughout the United States. During this time, Radoccia took an interest in the humanist and narrative sensibilities of the American Regionalist school.

Recently, he spent time in his New Orleans studio to create a new body of work entitled “Love Game.” With a continued concern for social issues, his current painting tells the story of the complexity of human relationships in gay culture. Radoccia playfully draws from the narrative tradition of the American Regionalists, while remaining open to the tradition of erotic miniatures from India. In an effort to transcend the human boundaries of race, class and gender, Radoccia’s current body of work reflects a commitment to “popular culture,” a fascination for the vernacular, and a quest for cross-cultural exchanges.