Joe Mangrum's Earth, Wind, and Fire

Joe Mangrum's installations have been shared with national and international audiences . He attended the Florence Biennale in 2003, where he received the prestigious Lorenzo de Medici award in "New Media", for his striking piece, "Fragile". Joe has also been nominated for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art "SECA" award. An alumnus of The Art Institute of Chicago, Joe began his training as a painter and moved toward installations of found objects, while traveling abroad. He continues to explore multiple mediums and materials in his work.

Many of Joe's recurring themes explore our relationship to modern life juxtaposed with our organic natures and desires for freedom. Joe examines the indomitable power of creation in relation to the grid of imposed structures of cities and hegemonies of power constructs. He often employs the use of iconographic and spiritual forms such as the mandala and the pyramid in surprising configurations. Joe's inspiration is served by the challenge of maintaining a complex dialogue with the viewer encapsulated by our current world of affairs.maintaining a complex dialogue with the viewer encapsulated by our current world of affairs.

http://www.joemangrum.com