Today we’d like to introduce you to Jo Archuleta.
Hi Jo, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Painting has always been part of my life. Both of my parents are painters, and my family is full of artists, so creativity was woven into the everyday rhythm of my childhood. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting beside my mom in her studio with a tiny watercolor set, painting alongside her as a toddler. I rarely went anywhere without a pen and sketchbook, and drawing became my way of making sense of the world.
Ironically, I never imagined I would become a professional artist. I thought I’d end up making movies. I fell in love with old black and white films and the feeling they gave me, that sense of witnessing something bigger than myself. I wanted to tell stories that made people feel that way, so I threw myself into school plays and quietly dreamed of moving to Los Angeles. I didn’t talk about those dreams very much, but they were always on my mind.
I applied to the Kansas City Art Institute last minute, and ended up leaning in. It wasn’t acting but my work was starting to become deeply personal, and I realized I wasn’t just learning how to paint, I was also learning who I was. The paintings became a way of understanding my own experiences, my curiosity, my sense of humor.
Life has a funny way of connecting the dots. I’ve since had the opportunity to work in the art department on commercials and films throughout Kansas City, so I never really left filmmaking behind. Looking back, I don’t think I was ever choosing between painting and storytelling. I just hadn’t realized they were the same thing. I earned my BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2024, and since then I’ve been focused on building a sustainable studio practice. That pull toward telling stories never disappeared, I simply found a different way to do it.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. There isn’t a roadmap for being a working artist. You’re constantly balancing making the work with learning everything else: networking, applications for grants, exhibitions, and residencies, documenting paintings, handling sales, working with galleries, and figuring out the business side of things. It’s a lot of trial and error, and I learn something new every day. The biggest thing is showing up, staying curious and trying anyway.
I experienced my first major burnout this year, which was a doozy. Something I found helpful was taking a little more time outside of the studio to fill my cup. I got a puppy and fell in love, so that’s been keeping me busy. I also found that the busier I am, the more I crave the studio. Painting is a gift I give myself, and even though it’s become my job, I can’t afford to lose that little bit of that magic that’s just for me.
I’m trying to be more selfish in the studio these days. I’m finally in a place where I kinda want to go into hibernation mode and just work in my studio for a while. I am so excited about making this new body of work for a two person show planned for 2027.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a figurative painter investigating how we construct ourselves: the personas we inherit, the fantasies we create, the things we perform, the things we hide, and the gap between who we imagine ourselves to be and who we actually are. Visually, my work is recognizable for its saturated color, stylized and exaggerated forms, and playful imagery. I often paint red and pink women, along with recurring motifs like little crusty dogs that exist somewhere between a companion, observer, and/or symbol.
There’s a sense of humor and playfulness that draws people in, and I love that. I like making work that can be inviting, strange, funny, and visually pleasurable. But underneath the humor are questions about identity, desire, insecurity, performance, and the ways we try to make ourselves lovable, interesting, and understood.
What I’m most proud of is that I’ve built a visual language that is unmistakably my own, a world viewers can recognize, enter, and continue discovering. I feel like I’m still at the beginning of understanding the full potential of that world, and I’m excited to keep chasing its edges, letting new questions and new bodies of work pull me further into it.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I would describe myself as more of a strategic thinker than a natural risk-taker. My painting professor once asked me, “If there isn’t a chance of failure, why is it worth doing? If you have nothing to lose, why is it important?” I still ask myself that question all the time. The paintings I’m most proud of usually come from the moments where I stop trying to control the outcome and let something unexpected happen. So when I’m not sure of my next move, I try to lean into that, every little risk at a time.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://joarchuleta.com
- Instagram: @joarchuletaart
