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Innovative "Urban Pop" Artist Joshua Tiktin has been creating art professionally since 1995. The stand-out Bachelor of Art was singled out by his University of Maryland art professor in a sit-down lecture to 400 students as "the guy who has the pulse on what's next."
26 years later, Tiktin's art has graced the walls of the White House, collections of the famous (such as Madonna), exhibited in galleries (including his own spaces from Wynwood to Washington, DC), and sold thousands of originals and prints to collectors in over 36 countries on 6 continents.
Joshua and his artistic ventures have been featured in/on Deco Drive, the Washington Post, DC Modern Luxury, Nylon Magazine, Elle, The Washingtonian, Miami New Times, Sun Sentinel (cover), Talking Off The Wall, The Forum, The Gazette (cover), Comcast Network, and many more.
Tiktin's body of work can generally be broken down into five periods/series (that sometimes cross-pollinate):
1) "Cube Pop" (1995-2000)
Large canvas oil paintings that feature bright, vast, color-fielded imagery tied together with adventurous, graffiti-styled line work.
2) Biblical Graffiti (2001-2007)
In 2001 Tiktin reached international success with his very taboo (at the time) rendering of the secret ancient Kabbalistic bible code that Moses used to split the (metaphorical) Red Sea. This work consists of 72 paintings that are 20" x 30" each, all spray and oil painted during a 10 day stretch, and placed digitally into a patterned print. The artwork and code is called "The 72 Names of God," and is meant to be used as a meditation device to rewire our consciousness and align us with the laws of the universe. Tiktin utilized the power of the ancient code during the creation of his rendition and its presentation to the world. The 72 original works sold out within a few months and 1,000's of prints and posters were purchased and sold by the Kabbalah Centre International throughout their worldwide locations. The prints are still available and selling today.
3) Turntable Art (2007-present)
Tiktin up-cycles (or recreates) vinyl records and laser discs which feature stenciled, repurposed, and/or hand-drawn images that are brought to life by intensely colored spray paint, paint markers, and epoxy resin. These works either fly solo, sit upon a turntable-esque background, or complete entire conceptual "DJ set-ups." LED lighting is sometimes included to further mind-blow the sensory experience.
4) Crateworks (2020-present)
Everyday thousands of artworks are shipped around the globe inside of crates. However, Tiktin sees the art that these crate-walls want to become as Michelangelo saw sculptures-to-be embedded within marble. Likewise, Joshua sees a higher calling for the generic symbols upon the boxes and the packaging materials too. For example, he transformed the "this side up" emblem into an emoji named "T.A.L.U." (Things Are Looking Up) and fills bubble-wrap with paint. The use of the crates is inspired by found-object artist Purvis Young and the bubble wrap flowers are inspired by Murakami.
T.A.L.U. (EMOJI) Things Are Looking Up
5) Color Puddles (2021-present)
After initial familiarization, experimentation, and "happy accidents" with epoxy resin, Tiktin created a technique that involves the ability to transfer paint/paintings onto resin "Silly Putty" style. The procedure is incredibly challenging and utilizes a bizarre, secret material!
