Local artist featured in Japanese art exhibit

Christal Gaines-Emory

Writer

Fallbrook resident and active Fallbrook Art Association member Joel Anderson will be one of the 42 artists representing America in the 20th Japan International Art Exchange Exhibition. The art show will take place in the Chiba City Museum of Art in Japan Aug. 3-8 highlighting talented artists from all over the world.

Anderson is an artist and public speaker with autism, and this will be his second time as a featured artist in this exhibit. His piece is called, "Cub of Many Colors" and, out of 800 submissions, this piece was one of the paintings chosen to represent the U.S. in the "USA Exhibition" curated by Julienne Johnson, Anderson's mentor and family friend.

The "Cub of Many Colors" piece is a reimagination of one of his older paintings. He wanted to experiment and create more of an abstract and colorful painting to catch the eyes of the viewers.

"Cub of many colors is actually a reworked version of one of my paintings, 'Mentor Lion 2.' I wanted to zoom in on the face and try out some bright and vibrant colors," said Anderson. "I hoped to make the piece look abstract and creative. The cub's eyes are like mine when I learn something from my mentor; filled with wonder and creativity."

Anderson is grateful for the opportunity to represent his country at the exhibition. Due to restrictions from the COVID-19 pandemic, Anderson will not be able to attend the event in person. However, he looks forward to representing America for a second time in the exhibition.

"It is truly an honor to have my art in Japan during these very unique Olympic games," said Anderson. "I am proud to be an American and I hope my art inspires my fellow Americans and our friends from all the countries around the world to come together and share a smile."

Art has been a passion of Anderson's since he began drawing at the age of 5. At the age of 11, he began painting and, a year later, he began his art business. Since then, Anderson has traveled all over the world sharing his artistic knowledge and experiences as an artist and public speaker with a disability. He has been a keynote speaker at multiple Autism Awareness conferences including conferences in China, Peru, Canada, and more.

His art has recently been at the Oceanside Museum of Art, Color of Sound Exhibition. It has also been featured in many countries around the world, including Japan, China, Yerevan, Canada, Africa, South America and all across America.

Anderson also works as an illustrator for children's books, and he wrote and illustrated his own book called "The Medieval Trio Tales- Courage at the Concert" in 2012. This series is about sticking up for those in need. Anderson is currently illustrating three new books in this series to help inform young people about perseverance and teamwork.

Anderson hopes to continue with the expansion of his business and to continue informing students at schools and universities about disabilities. He also plans to continue participating in art exhibits all over the world. His next exhibit will be the San Diego Festival of the Arts on September 11 and 12 at the San Diego Surf Sports Park.

"I would like to thank everyone who supports me," said Anderson. "I thank the Lord for my family, mentors, teachers, friends, foundations and our community of Fallbrook. God's beautiful creations give me endless ideas to paint in such a wide spectrum of color, you can't help but smile."

To learn more about artist Joel Anderson, visit his websites https://www.joelsvisionarts.com/ and https://www.joelandersonartist.com/.