About the Artist
JoeSam, a Harlem native, grew up fascinated by color and texture found in his neighborhood. "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." As a child, JoeSam's now legendary restless creative spirit was continually cultivated through art projects. He has earned a BS from Columbia University and a PhD in Psychology and Education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. After teaching educational psychology at Amherst College briefly in the 1970's, JoeSam moved West and eventually settled in San Francisco. For nine years, he served as the director for the Headstart program. However, at 40, he decided that art would be his life and he has been passionately devoted ever since.

About the Exhibit
His newest body of work fulfills a promise he personally made to the elementary students he has visited all over the U.S.: creating a body of work based on his teachings to them about the energy and spontaneity of color and paper to create beautiful images. Inspired by his own childhood, JoeSam typically works with a wide range of materials as they are found in their natural state. "Looking Through the Eyes of Children" incorporates the images and colors that he has seen children use over the years into his signature style of work. JoeSam's own use of color and the energy he is able to create through color makes his pieces special. The simplicity and vibrancy of his works continues to fascinate school children, art aficionados and art critics alike.