Bio —
Josh Stone is a Los Angeles–based artist and educator working across painting, sculpture, installation, and photographic intervention. His practice blends humor with conceptual clarity, in a lineage that runs through John Baldessari and Bruce Nauman toward the more open-source, DIY ethos of contemporary social practice.
He calls what he's after "a history of forgetting," a phrase borrowed from Norman Klein, who wrote the 1997 book of the same name about how Los Angeles erases its own past. Klein was one of Stone's mentors at CalArts, and the idea never really left. Every city keeps careful records of what it wants remembered. Stone is more interested in the other pile, what got relocated, paved over, or just quietly dropped from the story, and what's still there if you go looking. Heritage Square follows a village of Victorian houses moved from across LA and preserved as artifacts, stripped of the neighborhoods that gave them meaning in the first place. History of Uprisings retraces Chavez Ravine, Watts, and 1992 as a walking tour built around the events LA would rather not put on a plaque. Panorama puts viewers inside a 155-foot photograph of the night before the '92 verdict. No exits. Just the city holding its breath.
His work also tends to start small: an absurd or overlooked gesture, the kind of thing most people walk past without registering. Stone treats humor as a form of intelligence rather than a punchline, a way of getting at harder questions about attention, perception, and the stories we inherit without noticing we've inherited them. A lot of his performance work comes down to one moment: being seen. The passerby's confusion. The gesture held a beat too long. The joke that turns out to be the idea.
He teaches drawing, painting, and ethnic studies in South Central Los Angeles, not as a separate job, but as an extension of the same practice. For Stone, art and teaching are both just ways to notice.
His work has shown across Los Angeles, including Black Dragon Society, Into Action, and Monte Vista Projects, where he was a founding member. He's been featured in Sarah Thornton's Seven Days in the Art World, and in the usual scattered writing that comes with sticking around the LA scene long enough.
He holds a BFA and MFA from CalArts.
CV —
Education
MFA, Fine Art, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA (2005)
BFA, Fine Art, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA (2003)
Selected Projects
Panorama (2005)
155‑foot photographic installation presented in the round, situating viewers inside the dusk of the night before the 1992 uprising.
Uprisings (2007)
Series of site drawings and a guided performance tour tracing the locations of major Los Angeles uprisings.
Donuts (2009)
Performative photographic project aligning small handmade donuts with the monumental Randy’s donut; explores scale, humor, ritual, and personal mythology.
Heritage Square (2010–2026)
Long‑term photographic and research‑based project examining displaced Victorian houses and the politics of preservation, memory, and site.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo
History of Los Angeles Through Uprisings, Site‑specific performance, Los Angeles, CA (2008)
Panorama of South Central Los Angeles, April 28th, 1992, Mint Gallery, CalArts, Valencia, CA (2005)
Anthro‑Apology, Gallery D‑300, CalArts, Valencia, CA (2006)
Group
Now(n) person, place or thing, Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago, IL (2018)
The Haunted House Show, Los Angeles, CA (2009)
Designomite, Black Dragon Society, Los Angeles, CA (2007)
Royal Alumni, Enjoy Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (2006)
Offering Up The “Other”, TCB Inc., Melbourne, Australia (2006)
Supersonic, LA Design Center, Los Angeles, CA (2005)
Shipping & Receiving, Armory Northwest, Pasadena, CA (2005)
Incognito, Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica, CA (2004)
Arboretum, Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2004)
Curated
First Kiss, Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles, CA (2008) Inaugural exhibition launching Monte Vista Projects, an artist‑run space in Highland Park. As one of the founding members, co‑curated the exhibition with Noah Peffer, Candice Lin, Fiona Jack, and Ryan Tabor.
Shipping & Receiving, Armory Northwest, Pasadena, CA (2005) MFA exhibition co‑curated and co‑produced with Ginny Cook and Julie Orser.
Public Programs & Collaborations
Re:Fresh: CalArts Hip‑Hop Summit, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — 2003 Co‑curated and co‑produced with Tuan Andrew Nguyen and Matt Lucero. A student‑led summit exploring hip‑hop, performance, and interdisciplinary collaboration, funded by a $5,000 Dean’s Project Grant from Thomas Lawson.
MAKING: A Collaborative Reinvention of the Family Museum, LACMALab, LACMA West (Boone Children’s Gallery), Los Angeles, CA, 2002 Contributor / Participating Artist (Educational & Interactive Program)
Teaching & Pedagogy
Arts Educator, Nava College Preparatory Academy (LAUSD), 2019–present
Teaching visual art to high school students in a public‑school setting, with a focus on creative process, material exploration, and community‑based practice. Develop curriculum, guide portfolio development, and cultivate a studio environment grounded in experimentation, care, and critical thinking.
Graduate Teaching Assistant, California Institute of the Arts, 2005–2006
Co‑taught Foundation Seminar and Sculpture Studio with Martin Kersels; developed syllabi, led critiques, organized studio visits, and facilitated off‑site learning.
Educator, Side Street Projects: Alternate Routes, 2006–2007
Taught woodworking, design, and creative problem‑solving to children across Los Angeles on a mobile artist‑run platform.
Guest Lectures
Santa Monica Mentor Program, Santa Monica, CA (2005)
CalArts Foundation Seminar, Valencia, CA (2005)
Hamilton High School, Los Angeles, CA (2011)
Chaffey Community College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA (2011)
Press Coverage
Thornton, Sarah. Seven Days in the Art World. W. W. Norton, 2008. Documents Josh Stone as a participant in the CalArts critique seminar featured in the book’s chapter on art education.
Hollingsworth, Dennis. “Designomite at Black Dragon Society.” Contemporaneous blog coverage of the 2007 exhibition curated by Pentti Monkkonen, featuring Josh Stone as a participating artist.
Professional Awards (Residencies, Fellowships, Prizes)
Ahmanson Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — 2002 Merit‑based scholarship awarded for artistic excellence
Friends of CalArts Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — 2003 Competitive scholarship supporting outstanding student work
Dean’s Project Grant, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — 2003 $5,000 award supporting the creation and production of Re:Fresh, a student‑led hip‑hop summit at CalArts
Dean’s Curatorial Grant, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — 2004–2005 $10,000 award supporting the curation and production of Shipping & Receiving at Armory Northwest, Pasadena, CA
Georgia & Les Clark Scholarship, California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA — 2004 Endowed merit scholarship awarded for artistic achievement
Professional Practice
Lifelong artist working across photography, painting, drawing, performance, and site‑based research, with a focus on Los Angeles history, myth‑making, and architectural memory.