Opening Reception of Josh Tiessen: Solo Residency Exhibition

In celebration of Josh Tiessen’s four month residency with Moshava Art Gallery, “Josh Tiessen: Solo Residency Exhibition” features an expansive collection of eco-surrealist paintings alongside fresh work completed on-site. Through this sampling of Tiessen’s internationally award-winning career, strong visual themes recur: animals in abandoned human civilizations, depictions of irony and parody, and a visual theology expressing the intrinsic value and moral innocence of the animal kingdom.

On November 13th, from 6-8:00pm, Moshava Art Gallery will host an opening reception including a short talk from the artist at 7:00pm. For the show’s duration, the gallery will host viewing hours Wednesday-Saturday, 2-6:00pm with the artist live painting.

Artist Bio:

Josh Tiessen was born in 1995 in Moscow, Russia to Canadian parents. He is an international award-winning contemporary artist based near Toronto, Canada and is currently Artist-in-Residence at Moshava Gallery in New York, NY. Tiessen is best known for his hyper-surreal shaped oil paintings, which take up to 1700 hours to complete, and reflect the interaction between the natural world and human-made structures. Drawing upon his studies in theology and environmentalism, Tiessen holds a B.R.E. in Arts, Biblical Studies, and Philosophy (2020), and an M.A. in Art History from the University of Toronto (2024).

Tiessen has mounted solo exhibitions at University of Toronto in Toronto, ON (2024); Rehs Contemporary Gallery in New York, NY (2023); Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles, CA (2021); and Jonathan LeVine Projects in Jersey City, NJ (2019). His work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions, including Baton Rouge Gallery Center for Contemporary Art in Baton Rouge, LA (2025); LA Art Show in Los Angeles, CA (2022); Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, Australia (2021); Hiram Blauvelt Art Museum in Oradell, NJ (2020); Gallery at Oxo in London, U.K. (2018), Appleton Museum of Art in Ocala, FL (2016); Albany Museum of Art in Albany, GA (2016); and National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, ON (2012), among others.

The artist’s work has been written about in publications such as Forbes, CBC, Toronto Star, American Art Collector, International Artist, and The Huffington Post. His work is the subject of three art monograph books, including Vanitas + Viriditas (2024) and Streams in the Wasteland (2021), a multi-disciplinary project with composer Zac Tiessen, which CTV National News called “a masterpiece.” This prolific artist has garnered numerous awards and honours including International Guild of Realism Creative Achievement, Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and Canada’s 150th Anniversary Sesquicentennial Constituent Award, for his artistic accomplishment and philanthropic work.

You can find his work at www.joshtiessen.com and on Instagram @joshtiessen.