Joseph + Melinda Ostraff

Having worked side by side for more than forty-four years, the Ostraffs build their paintings through a genuinely shared process, each responding to the other’s marks on the surface. Through an expansive range of painterly processes, they push paint as material, resulting in less a blending of two styles than a negotiated visual language in which both voices remain distinct.

Melinda holds a Ph.D. with an emphasis in ethnobotany, the study of relationships between people and plants, and works in encaustic and with inks she makes from plants. Joseph, professor emeritus of art at Brigham Young University, has led more than thirty collaborative projects across art, design, music, and dance with partners in England, Ireland, Tonga, New Zealand, and the United States. He is also a three-time recipient of the Utah Artist Fellowship. Together, they were featured in season one of BYUtv’s Artful and recently completed a four-week artist residency at the Ballinglen Arts Foundation in Ballycastle, County Mayo, Ireland, followed by a four-week collaborative residency at The Averitt Art Center in Statesboro, Georgia.