Joseph Podlesnik

Joseph Jude Podlesnik (born September 27, 1959) is an artist who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. His work includes obscured and reflected self portraits, observation of light and pattern, and journalistic glimpses of everyday life. He is a Visual Arts Adjunct Faculty at Stockton University in New Jersey, and is Facilitator for the Digital Photography Cornell Certificate Program.
== Life and work ==
Podlesnik's work includes obscured and reflected self portraits, observation of light and pattern, and journalistic glimpses of everyday life.
He is currently a Visual Arts Adjunct Faculty at Stockton University in New Jersey, and is Facilitator for the Digital Photography Cornell Certificate Program. He received his Master of Fine Arts in drawing and painting from Cornell University and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in drawing and painting at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
At age 18, while working in a factory in Beloit, Wisconsin, Podlesnik fell 50 feet from an overhead crane. He barely missed a pile of metal debris, but broke his right leg and injured his lower back. He spent six weeks in the hospital.
While rehabilitating, he choose to study film at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He changed his major to drawing and painting as he became more focused on life drawing. 
Podlesnik trained in painting and drawing, but is currently focusing on photography. "Yes, I’m trained in drawing and painting and, like many, have used photographs as sources from which to draw and paint. I think it was when I started using photography to teach design fundamentals that I started to try my hand at taking photographs." His experience with painting is reflected in his photos.
Podlesnik explores profound themes in his photography. His work challenges traditional notions of perspective, creating images that intentionally frustrate readable spatial relationships, thereby encouraging viewers to engage actively with the visual content. Influenced by his background in drawing and painting, Podlesnik's photography reenacts perception, inviting a tactile engagement with visual elements while reflecting on the physical discomfort experienced during the act of capturing images. His exhibitions serve as a platform for reevaluating how we perceive and interact with the world around us.
== Publications ==
*Observational Drawing (Tempe Digital, 2017)
== Awards ==
*2016: Best in Show, Arizona Artists Guild's Associates Body of Work Juried Exhibition
*2019: Third prize, Summer Photo Competition, Master's of Photography
*2020: First Prize (Juror's Choice), Noyes Museum RAW Annual Juried Photography Exhibition
== Exhibitions ==
*All I Knew Was What I Saw: Photographs by Joseph Podlesnik, Shemer Art Center & Museum, Phoenix, AZ
*Acts of Looking, Stockton University Art Gallery, Galloway, NJ
*The Mystery of the Visible, Abe Zucca Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
*Almost Seeing, {9} The Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
*Surfaces: Joseph Podlesnik, Bokeh Gallery the MonOrchid, Phoenix, AZ;
*Surfaces, City Museum of Ljubljana, Slovenia
*Portraits without People, Juried Exhibition. Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA
*Sentiment and Surface, 2-person show, w/ painter Mark Natale, Gallery 50, Bridgeton, NJ
*Observation & Imagination, Missouri Gallery of Contemporary Art, Missouri Valley College, Marshall, MO
*Abstraction/Obstruction, William Matthews Gallery, Denver, Colorado 
*Alternative Reality Exhibition, FLOAT Photo Magazine. Group exhibition, Brooklyn, NY
*Space Exhibition, FLOAT Photo Magazine. Group exhibition (juried), Brooklyn, NY
*Favorite Photograph Exhibition, Part VII. Lenscratch
*Mark Allen Natale & Joseph Podlesnik, Gallery 50, Bridgeton, NJ
* The Pain, Boredom and Euphoria of Looking, w/ Maryn Olson and Kambel Smith, Noyes Arts Garage of Stockton University
== References ==
== External Links ==
* Official website
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Category:1959 births
Category:Artists
Category:American artists
Category:American visual artist
Category:American educators
Category:Stockton University faculty
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alumni