About the Artist
JoeSam, a Harlem native, grew up fascinated by color and texture found in his neighborhood streets. "I remember the way the paint used to peel in our house... that old lead-based paint would bubble up after a rain and when you peeled up a piece you got all these layers. I remember the tin cans that would rot in the alleys. When I look at all the things I have done, they remind me of the apartment buildings in Harlem, of what I used to see all the time."

Despite his challenging childhood, his restless creative spirit was continually cultivated through art projects. After attending St Paul's College and a stint teaching educational psychology at Amhurst College in the 1970's, JoeSam moved West and eventually landed in San Francisco. For nine years, he served as the director for the Headstart program. However, he decided that at 40, art would be his life and he has been passionately devoted to it ever since.

About the Exhibit
His retrospective will include pieces from some of his most notable works including "Portraits of Us", his "Black West" series and several multicultural inspired works from the last 20 years.