Joe Sanders

Education and Certifications

• BFA - Florida State University
  
• MFA - Arizona State University

Biography

Joe Sanders is a visual artist, administrator, and innovator. His creative production is focused on printmaking and handmade paper works. His creative interests include exploring intersections of art, science, and technology. Collaborations inspire new artwork, as does the experimentation and improvisation that occurs in the studio. Sanders explores the printed surface as a bridge between various art media including handmade books, sculpture, and papermaking.

After receiving an M.F.A. degree from Arizona State University, Sanders joined the faculty at the University of Georgia in Athens. From 1988-2006 he served in various capacities including as Gallery Director, Graduate Program Coordinator, and Chair of the Printmaking Department in the Lamar Dodd School of Art. He established the Green Street Press letterpress printing facility while at UGA. He taught frequently for the Cortona, Italy Studies Abroad Program. He then served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Art at Florida State University from 2006 to 2009, where he was instrumental in establishing two interdisciplinary facilities, the FormLab and Small Craft Advisory Press. He held the Alan F. Rothschild Distinguished Chair of Art at Columbus State University from 2009 to 2018, helping to establish the Seaboard Depot Studios facility, CSU Pasaquan, and the Animation and Graphic Design areas of study. He returned to full time teaching and studio practice in 2018.

In service to other arts organizations, Sanders served as Traveling Exhibition Coordinator, Vice-President, and President of the Board of Directors for the Southern Graphics Council (SGC International). He was editor of the SGC Graphic Impressions printmaking journal. He served on the Pasaquan Preservation Society Board from 2010 to 2018 where he assisted with the stewardship transition to the Kohler Foundation and subsequently Columbus State University. He served on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Printmakers Studio from 2018-2023, assisting with the development of a repurposed 1950’s gas station in collaboration with the City of Hapeville, GA, and with moving the organization from the MET facility in Atlanta to the new facility in 2023.

Sanders’ creative work has been included in numerous national printmaking and book arts projects, and he has shown work in over 200 exhibitions. His prints and handmade books are in many museum, academic and library special collections. His work was recently included in exhibitions such as “Authentic Marks: 4th Annual International Miniature Printmaking Exhibition” at Zayed University in Dubai, UAE; “Paper on the River 2022,” at the Atlas Science Center in Appleton WI (featured artist and award); “Master Prints in the Permanent Collection” at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University in Auburn, AL;“Paper Alive!” Paper Art International exhibition, International Association of Hand Papermakers and Paper Artists at the Kunstgewerbemuseum, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD), Pillnitz Palace in Dresden, Germany; the “Book as Art: Pulp” exhibition in Decatur, GA (first place medal); and "L'arte della pesca...la pesca nell'arte 2023” at the Convento della Maddalena, in Castel di Sangro (AQ), Italy. Curatorial projects by Sanders include “MATRIX: Contemporary Printmaking” a national invitational exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts (MOFA), Florida State University. Sanders enjoys travel, collecting art, writing, fishing, spending time with family, and working at his studios in Columbus and on Dog Island, Florida.

Academic Areas

• Studio Arts: Printmaking and Book Arts