Artist

Exploring creativity from a young age, art has been a driving factor for Joshua Leland Yurges. In elementary school, he began working with his carpenter father on job sites, learning how to tell a story with one of earth’s most familiar materials.

Just before his 21st birthday, Joshua was stationed in Rockland, Maine with the United States Coast Guard. It was there that he decided to pursue a career in art. Experiencing the electric spark of translating the imagined into the tangible, Joshua came alive through his work.   

Forging an experience and authoring visual narratives, Joshua explored a variety of artistic mediums. Seeking inspiration and knowledge in all forms, he studied a variety of curricula in both the scientific and artistic realms after his time in the Coast Guard.

His diverse history- from studies in horticulture and geology, to furniture making and installation art- influences his grounded connection to real world, while exploring what could be. 

Surrounding himself with creatives, Joshua met his wife, who further ignited his passion for the tactile, poetic experience of physical art. 

Based in Staunton, Virginia, Joshua resides with his wife, twins, dog, and cats. Many cats   

Artwork

A serendipitous trip to a hardware store introduced Joshua to lath for the first time.

Lath are the thin wooden strips behind historic plaster walls. This is often one of the first materials to be discarded when an older building is being renovated. Joshua began paying close attention to wherever construction was taking place to see what material could be used back in his studio.  

Patience and method lend themselves well to lath, celebrating the inherent history of the time tested material. Realizing this medium allowed resilience within unexpected limitations that were not present before in other work that he was making.

After experimenting with art in a variety of mediums, when Joshua discovered this material, a connection was made and a curiosity was opened.

C.V.

September 2020 - Current, - Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia.

November 3rd - 15th, 2020, - Art Unlocked - McGuffy Art Center, Charlottesville, Virginia.

July 25th - August 30th 2015 - Corey Daniels Gallery, Post Road, Wells, Maine
Summer Exhibition 2015

September 2013 - Ogunquit Museum of American Art, Shore Road, Ogunquit, Maine "Emerging Artists 2013" Group Show

March 2011 - Corey Daniels Gallery, Post Road, Wells, Maine

August 2010 - June Fitzpatrick Gallery at MECA, Congress Street, Portland, Maine.
“Dots” Group Show.

February 2010 - Eastland Park Hotel Gallery, High Street, Portland, Maine. Group Show.

October 2009 - North Dam Mill, Hallway Gallery, Biddeford, Maine. “Yurges and McKeever.”

September 2008 - “Black Frame Art Show.” Merrill Auditorium, Myrtle Street, Portland, Maine.

May 2008 - Coffee By Design, India Street, Portland, Maine. Solo Exhibit.

December 2007 - Space Gallery, Congress Street, Portland, Maine. “Free for All.” Group Show.