Renaissance Artist
Joseph Edward Allen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, on Christmas Eve, 1966. He was brought to America at the age of eighteen months. As a child, Joseph loved sketching landscape drawings, and he painted his first portrait at the age of six while living in Long Beach, California. At the age of seven, he moved to Alaska, then returned to California, then moved to Iran. It was in Sar Chesmeh, Iran, that he studied Farsi (Persian Arabic writing), in the Calligrapic form and was taught to draw still life and the art of shadowing to create three dimensional artworks. As a youth, his drawings and paintings were inspired by European and Middle Eastern culture and artists like Cezanne.
Joseph was greatly influenced by the creativity of his mother, who was formerly apprenticed to a well-known Vietnamese abstract painter, and his uncle, Donald P. Allen, a traditional landscape artist. During his junior high and high school years, Joseph experimented with sketching and logo design. His fascination with drawing the human form and the study of anatomy led to his decision to go to medical school. He double-majored in French and Biology at San Diego State University. After completing a Master of Science degree in Molecular Biology, he studied medicine at St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies. His international medical education allowed him to perfect his clinical skills in Bath, England and Brooklyn, New York City, where he became fluent in Spanish. He completed his residency in Family Medicine in New Jersey, followed by a Sports Medicine Fellowship at University of California, San Diego. During his first years in private practice, he continued to create artworks, drawing inspiration from flora, fauna, music, and the neighboring country of Mexico, particularly Baja California, where he continues to volunteer as a Flying Samaritans clinic coordinator providing care for medically underserved populations.
Joseph is a diverse and talented artist who has condensed many styles of painting into a passion for Abstract Expressionism. Gifted with an eye for color, composition, texture, and a unique linear perspective, he is able to create visual movement on canvas with the brush and palette knife. Joseph believes in the healing potential of visual art through the generation of positive emotion. His medical office waiting room has become a space to exhibit his latest paintings. Patients find his gallery a relaxing and inspiring place, and often comment on the beauty and serenity of his artworks.
Joseph Allen has dedicated his artistic life to becoming one of the great American painters of the 21st Century, and seeks the distinctive Museum and art collector who will take note early in his career. Already an accomplished physician, teacher, and humanitarian, Joseph has a high standard of achievement, and believes he can set a new benchmark for creativity and innovation. He hopes his artwork and contributions to humanity will inspire a new generation of renaissance artists and thinkers for generations to come.