Joel Hart: The Artistic Process

Since launching in April, Joel Hart’s six-month residency in Gallery 6 has turned heads and sparked conversations, as his colossal creations splash our walls with vibrant mosaics of colour and texture. The faces lining the hallway stop you in your tracks, inviting a second glance, then a third—and before long, you’re caught in the details. The deeper you look, the more Joel’s intricate designs reveal themselves, like hidden whispers in the paint. Even now, we’re finding something fresh in pieces we’ve admired time and time again. So, what’s the secret behind Joel’s mesmerising works? We sat down with the artist to uncover the magic and were amazed by just how much goes into each piece before a single brushstroke is made.

 

Joel’s early years as a screen printer shaped the foundation of his technique. He learned the art of separation—peeling apart images, stencilling over layers—skills that now anchor his creative process. What begins digitally evolves, layer by layer, into the immersive works of art you see on our walls today. Joel’s process is like constructing a living collage, with the human form at the center and abstract textures, shapes, and media swirling around it. It all starts on a screen, where he scans photos, textures, and elements, building digital collages. From there, it’s a dance of print, cut, re-scan, and repeat until the image starts to take form. Once the composition clicks, Joel laser-cuts stencils from his digital designs, and that’s when the real fun begins.

The canvas becomes his playground, where he layers paint and mixed media with stencils, rollers, airbrushes, and hand-painted details. Each piece moves from dark to light, revealing itself in stages. Though every artwork is distinct, this method ties them together—a signature blend of chaos and calm.

 

If you haven’t yet experienced Joel Hart’s Chaos of Calm exhibition, now’s your chance—just one month remains. Wander up to level 6 and let the art draw you in. You might even be tempted to take a piece home for your own walls.