Major Works
- Strange Fruit
- Carry Back (1960)
- The New Jemima (1964)
- Power Flight (1972)
- Storyville (1980’s, series)
- The French House (1988)
- Door of No Return (1990’s, series)
- Exchange (1993)
- Silver Screens (2000’s)
- Meridian Fields
Biography of Artist Joe Overstreet
Joe Wesley Overstreet was born in Conehatta, MS (near Philadelphia), on June 20, 1933. His family moved to Berkeley, California where he spent his youth. He graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1951.
Overstreet worked part-time leading ships with the Merchant Marines for 7 years in the 1950’s, working in the Far East, Europe, and South America.
He attended Contra Cost College in San Pablo, CA, in 1951-52, the California School of Fine Arts (1953), and California School of Arts and Crafts (1954). He studied with sculptor Sargent Johnson and artist Raymond Howell.
From 1955 to 1957, Overstreet worked at the Walt Disney Studios as an animator. He moved to New York City in 1958 where he worked as a department store window designer.
In New York, Overstreet worked as the art director at the Black Arts Repertory Theatre and School (BARTS) located in Harlem in 1965. He was involved with the Civil Rights movement and advocated for the rights of African-American artists. His artwork began to reflect these issues.
In 1974, he co-founded a gallery that showcases the work of African-American, Latino, Asian-American, and Native American artists. Kenkeleba House hosts 6 to 10 shows a year, offers educational programs, and has a sculpture garden. The house is located on 214 East 2nd Street in New York.
Overstreet is a painter and his work has ranged from figurative to geometric to abstract. His work is on permanent display at many museums and private collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Crockett Museum, the Living Arts Center, The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Oakland Museum, the Newark Museum, the Menil Foundation Collection, and the Everson Museum.
In 2018, Joe Overstreet was awarded the Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts Award, Mississippi Arts Commission. Overstreet lives and works in New York. He is married to Corinne Jennings and they have three children.
Interview with Joe Overstreet (2012)
Timeline
- 1933 – Born in Conehatta, Mississippi
- 1951- Graduated from Oakland Technical High School
- 1951-52 – studied at Contra Cost College and
- 1953 – Studied at California College of Fine Arts
- 1954 – Studied at the California School of Arts and Crafts
- 1955 – 1957 – Worked at Disney Studios as an animator
- 1958 – Moved to New York
- 1960’s – Became involved with the Civil Rights Movement
- 1965 – Art director at the Black Arts Repertory Theatre and School
- 1970-1973 – Taught at California State University, East Bay
- 1971 – Displayed The New Jemima in the Some American History exhibit at Rice University
- 1971-72 Founder, Ninth Generation of Artists
- 1971-1973 – Artist in residence at California State University
- 1974 – Moved back to New York
- 1974 – Co-founded Kenkelaba House
- 1974 – present – Artistic Director at Kenkelaba House
- 1982 – 1987 – Produced a 75 panel piece in Cor-ten steel and neon for the San Francisco International Airport in the Bay Area of CA
- 1988-89 – Artist Print Residency, Brandywine Workshop
- 2018 – Awarded Mississippi Governor’s Arts Award for Excellence in Visual Arts
Collections (Partial Listing)
- The Brooklyn Museum, New York, NY
- The Everson Museum., Syracuse, NY
- The Newark Museum of Art, NJ
- The Oakland Museum, CA
- The University of California at Berkeley Museum, CA
- The Crockett Museum. Sacramento, CA
- The Living Art Center, Dayton, OH
- The Chicago Bank for Savings, IL
- The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- The New York Urban Coalition, New York, NY
- The New York Health and Hospitals Corporation, New York, NY
- The New Jersey State Museum at Trenton
- The Chase Manhattan Bank, New York, NY
- The Menil Foundation, Houston, TX
- The John De Menil Collection, Houston, TX
- Sam Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY
- Atlantic Richfield Corporation, Philadelphia, PA
- Colgate-Palmolive Corporation, New York, NY
- Carillon Corporation, Fort Lee, NJ
- Cochran Collection of Works on Paper, Stone Mountain, GA
- Beatrice International, New York, NY
Solo Exhibitions
- 2008 The Storyville Series. City Gallery East. Atlanta, GA
- 2003 Meridian Fields. Wilmer Jennings Gallery, New York, NY
- 2001 Silver Screens. Wilmer Jennings Gallery
- 1999 Recent Paintings. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
- 1996 (Re) Call and Response. * Everson Museum, Syracuse, NY
- 1996 Joe Overstreet: Works from 1957 to 1993. * New Jersey State Museum, Trenton
- 1996 Watercolors. Aljira Contemporary Art Center, Newark, NJ
- 1993 Facing the Door of No Return. * Kenkeleba Gallery, New York, NY
- 1992 The Storyville Series.* Montclair State College Art Gallery, NJ
- 1992 Joe Overstreet. G.R. N’Namdi Gallery, Birmingham, MI; Columbus, OH
- 1991 Recent Paintings. Wilmer Jennings Gallery
- 1990 The Storyville Series. Vaughan Cultural Center, St. Louis, MO
- 1988 The Storyville Series.* Kenkeleba Gallery, New York
- 1976 Kenkeleba House, New York, NY
- 1971 Joe Overstreet.* De Luxe Black Art Center, sponsored by the Menil Foundation, and the Institute for the Arts at Rice University, Houston, TX
- 1971 Joe Overstreet. Living Art Center. Dayton, OH
- 1971 Joe Overstreet. Ankrum Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 1971 Flight Patterns, Dorsky Gallery, New York, NY
- 1970 Berkeley Rotary Art Center, Berkeley, CA
- 1969 Studio Museum in Harlem*, New York, NY (Duo exhibit)
- 1965 Hugo Gallery, New York, NY
- 1961 Spanierman Gallery, New York, NY
- 1958 International Gallery, New York, NY
- 1958 Tea Gallery, (Miss Smith’s Tea Room) San Francisco, CA
- 1956 Cousin Jimbo’s Bop City, San Francisco, CA
- 1955 Vesuvio’s, San Francisco, CA
- 1954 The District, Oakland, CA
Bibiography
- The New Jemima
- Joe Overestreet, UCLA Hammer Digital Archives
- Joe Overstreet, Tate Modern
- Resume of Joe Overstreet (Rehistoricizing the Time Around Abstract Expressionism in the San Francisco Bay Area)
- Kenkelaba House, Manhattan Sideways