Welcome to My Website

Here you will find a visual record of my aesthetic journey over the last few years. As you will see, I choose the perceptual and romantic view over the conceptual or narrative. Ultimately, we base our "truths" on our feelings and emotions which override our intellect.

My desire is to acknowledge beauty and light wherever I might find it. I find inspiration in the most mundane as well as the most imposing. By synthesizing the elements of texture, color, rhythm, and form found throughout nature and manmade structures I find endless possibilities for aesthetic expression.

The qualities I value most in my work are those that suggest variety, luminosity and well-being. To complement my wide range of visual interests, I use diverse materials; in addition to oil and acrylic paint, I use resins, wood putty, cement, clay, and a torch.

Joseph Bellacera

BIO
Joseph Bellacera was born in Oakland, California in 1949. Although he has lived in such diverse places as Montana, Oklahoma, New York, and Boston, he grew up in a small-town atmosphere in Northern California. As a boy with questions about "how we got here" and a fascination with the Mercury space program, the young Bellacera wanted to be a "priest-astronaut." He eventually realized that creating art embodied the essence of both fields. He studied art at several institutions including: Massachusetts College of Art; Humboldt State University where he received an MA degree; and University of California Santa Barbara where he received an MFA in 1987.

Today Bellacera finds inspiration throughout his travels. Views of the ocean, deserts of the southwest, aerial views of agricultural fields, landscapes of the Sacramento delta region, ancient walls, mosaics, and the intimate patterns of nature found in his garden all combine to inspire him. In his luminous abstract and landscape paintings radiant forms emerge and dissolve to evoke feelings of transcendence and the Divine. Bellacera comments, "I use the alchemy of color and light to create the experience of seeing something, as if for the first time, before we define, name and categorize it. In this way, through painting, the mystery and awe of discovery and creation is continuously renewed." The most profound artistic influences on Bellacera's work have been that of JMW Turner's emotional and atmospheric seascapes from the early 19th century; Kandinsky's early 20th century spiritual abstract improvisations; and the more recent work of James Turrell, a Southwest installation artist who works with light.

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EDUCATION
1987 MFA, UC Santa Barbara, CA
1982 MA Art Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
1975 BA Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
1971-1973 Massachusetts College of Art, Boston

SOLO & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2008 Fields of Light, Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2007 New Work, Crossroads Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2006 The Luminous Horizon & Beyond, Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2006 New Work, Crossroads Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2004 New Worlds, The Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2004 Light on the Land, SMUD Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2004 Landscapes of Southern Italy, Barton Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2003 Siddhartha Gallery, Kathmandu, Nepal
2003 Tuscan Dreams, Barton Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2002 New Landscapes, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA
2002 Illumination, The Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA
2001 City of Rivers, California Arts Council, Sacramento, CA
2001 Radiant Spaces, Elliot Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA
2001 A Favored Place, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
2000 Air, Water, Earth, Elliott Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA
2000 Light on The Horizon, The Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2000 Joseph Bellacera, Recent Paintings, Tower Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1999 Variations, Tower Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1998 John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1996/95/92 Michael Himovitz Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1996 J.D. Neuman Gallery, San Francisco, CA
1995 Water, Fields & Skies, Quercia Gallery, Duncan Mills, CA
1992 Recent Monotypes, California State Capitol/Sacramento, CA
1989 Accurate Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1988 Fairfield Civic Arts Center, Fairfield, CA
1987 Structures I, University of California Art Museum, Santa Barbara, CA
1986 Structures, Brandon’s, Santa Barbara, CA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2008/07/06 Solomon Dubnick Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2007 Yolo County Arts Council, Woodland, CA
2007/06/05 Crossroads Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2006 Flatlanders, Richard Nelson Gallery, University of CA, Davis, CA
2006/05/04 Sacramento Valley Landscape Exhibition, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
2004 By Land and By Sea, Exploding Head Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2004 Northern California Landscape, Solano College, Fairfield, CA
2003 Just Beyond Town, Walter Buehler Visitor's Center Gallery, UC Davis, CA
2002 Summertime in Sacramento, Exploding Head Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2002 The Landscape, GwendaJay/Addington Gallery, Chicago, IL
2002 Bridges, Elliot Fouts Gallery, Granite Bay, CA
2002 Embassy Suites - Recent Commissions, The Art Foundry, Sacramento, CA
2000 The Exquisite Corpse, The Art Foundry Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2000 Still Life Exhibition, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
2000 Land, Sky, Water, Tower Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2000 Click Plus, American River College Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2000 Over the Bridge, California Arts Council, Sacramento, CA
1999 Recent Still Lifes, Tower Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1999 Views of California, Tower Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1998 All Creatures, Great & Small, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1998 Sacramento Valley Landscapes, Tower Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1997 Watermarks, Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA
1995 Artful Urnz, Michael Himovitz Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1995 Landscapes, Real & Imaginary, California State Univ., Sacramento, CA
1995 Hand Held, Solano College Gallery, Suisun, CA
1994/93 California Landscape, John Natsoulas Gallery, Davis, CA
1992 Group Landscapes, Himovitz/Miller Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1990 Artists for Amnesty International, Natsoulas/Novelozo Gallery, Davis, CA
1990/89 Accurate Art Gallery, Sacramento, CA
1989/88 Imagine, a traveling exhibit (U.S. & Europe), Sponsored by the
Walter Library, U.S. International University, & Verbum Magazine, San Diego, CA
1988 Macintosh Computer Conference, Boston, MA
1987 West Coast Painters, University of Hawaii
1987 Lagoons, University of California, Santa Barbara
1983 Reese Bullen Gallery, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA

AWARDS & GRANTS
1999 Best Landscape, KVIE PBS Art Show
1988 1st place & purchase award, Fairfield Art Show
1987 Merit Awards, Annual Herbert Bayer Exhibit, Brooks Adobe Center for the Arts, Santa Barbara
1986 Patent Grant, University of California, Santa Barbara
1985 Graduate Research Fellowship, University of California, Santa Barbara
1972 1st place printmaking, 3rd place photography, New England Festival of the Arts, Boston, MA

RELATED EXPERIENCE
1996 Assistant Director, Dawn Moline Fine Arts Gallery, Gold River, CA
1991-02 Judge/juror for numerous art shows and competitions

TEACHING
1988-02 Guest lecturer: University of California, Davis; American River College; Solano College
1985-87 Instructor: University of California, Santa Barbara
1973 Instructor: California State University, Humboldt

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ARTICLES
2006 Sacramento Bee, “Mystery Lies in the Mist for Yolo Artist,” Anita Creamer
2003 Sacramento News & Review, “Painting the Tuscan Sun” by Tim White
2003 (March), Davis Enterprise, “The Hypnotic Allure of Local Landscapes” by Marilyn Moyle
2001 (February) Davis Enterprise, “Two Views of the Landscape” by Paul Dorn

PUBLICATIONS
2006 Crossroads Contemporary & Kitchen Angels, Santa Fe. NM. Monograph.
2006 Flatlanders, University of California, Davis, The Richard Nelson Gallery. Exhibiton catalog.
2006 Sacramento Valley Landscape Paintings. Natsoulas Gallery. Exhibition catalog.
2005 Sacramento Valley Landscape Paintings. Natsoulas Gallery. Exhibition catalog.
1995 Photoshop 3.0 Handbook, Mark Siprut
1993 Photoshop 2.5 Handbook, Mark Siprut
1989 Fall Issue, Mondo 2,000
1989 Making Art on the Macintosh by Michael Gosney
1988 Fall issue, Verbum 2.2

SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Embassy Suites, Hyatt Regency, Sharna Hoffman & Associates, University of California Davis
Medical Centers, Kaiser-Permanente Hospitals, Hewlett-Packard, Carroll Burdick & McDonough
Attorneys, Parker Development Co., Clarklift Team Power, Pension Associates, Allstar Investments,
Oglivy WorldwideJoseph Bellacera has exhibited regularly since 1989. His work can be found in many private and corporate collections throughout the United States.

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