Joseph Lofton is a native of Florida who lived in New York City where he studied at the Art Students’ League and the School of Visual Arts. He has this to say about his work:

“My approach is contemporary and consists of a variety of subjects ranging from landscapes to still lifes and figures. My medium is acrylic collage. My execution is flat and frontal and falls somewhere in the middle ground between objective and non-objective concerns.

It is not my mission to emulate realistic images, but rather to use objects as a point of reference in creating a composition of forceful forms and colors.”

Lofton’s early work was influenced by the abstract expressionist movement in the 1950s and ‘60s in New York City. While different groups of works represent different periods of his life, there is a definite style and composition that connects all of his paintings. His work is defined by drawing subjects in a flat, frontal manner and the use of brilliant color and bold, angular strokes. This style has become one of his trademarks, and he has developed it in his own particular way. His work is in private collections in the US and Mexico.

Music and rhythm have also been a constant part of Lofton’s work, influenced by his love of jazz. His works are influenced by the environment and the era in which they are created. Lofton says, “The artist must inevitably reflect his time…this is my time”; it is a time which spans almost seven decades. Lofton’s work over the last decade includes more subject matter depicting war, religious intolerance, and inequality. Lofton is now working on pieces using a technique he calls “Linea Collage.” This technique includes the use of narrow pieces of painted collage to outline his sketch. The entire work is then painted, particular attention is paid to the details of the outlines.

Parallel Spirits by Joseph Lofton, 25 July 2012

For years at the Art Students League I studied African and Mexican Art, in a continual search to identify the resemblance between both.

I decided that getting to know someone requires to spend some time living with them, so during my sojourn to Mexico I painted ornamental Mexican and African designs to show that the two of them could coexist harmoniously on the same plane.

After 25 years in Mexico I realized that for certain groups in Mexican society, synthesizing African and Mexican art could have a potentially incendiary significance. However, while looking at a pair of sculptures I possess, I saw something that had eluded me for 40 years.

Eureka! I had found it, the spiritual bond between African and Indian art, considering that the great Mexican art was created by Indian civilizations.

As a result of this discovery I painted Parallel Spirits. The female is Ashanti and the male is Aztec. The Ashanti concept of ideal beauty is long necks, high forehead and a small mouth. This reminds me of an exhibit I had some years ago where a lady, while looking at my paintings, told me: “I just love your work, especially those long necks… you are surely influenced by Modigliani.” My answer was: “No ma’am, I was influenced by the Africans and so was Modigliani.” However, the spiritual content of both expressions gives significance to the form of African and Indian in my painting, Parallel Spirits.