Anthony Joseph
Illustration | Animation
Born with a steady crayon craving, Anthony grew up in Montréal, Quebec where he developed an early passion for creating vivid visuals, fuelled by Saturday morning cartoons and the fresco paintings at church on Sunday morning. Under the guidance and encouragement of his mother, Anthony was exposed to a vast array of arts and culture within his eclectic east coast surroundings. It wasn’t long before this exposure became rocket fuel for his already active imagination. In turn, drawing became a wonderful way to make sense of the world around him.
Anthony’s love for the arts began to truly bloom upon moving to Minnesota as a teenager. While attending St. Louis Park Senior High School, Anthony came under the tutelage of Robert “Doc” Anderson, his high school teacher and now lifelong mentor. Through Doc’s teachings, Anthony’s pursuit of the arts was reinvigorated as he dedicated himself to studying fine arts. With this newfound dedication, Anthony embarked on various art projects, commissions and shows, both at school and within his community. A highlight amongst Anthony’s early art achievements was when he was selected as the youngest member of 17 emerging artists to collaborate with the late famed muralist Dr. John Biggers in the designing and painting of the ‘Celebration of Life’ mural. At the time of its completion in 1996, the 160-foot mural stood as one of the biggest pieces of public art to ever grace the Twin Cities.
Continually seeking to hone his art skills, Anthony relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1998 to study at the Emily Carr University of Art + Design, where he earned a Bachelor of Media Arts with a major in Animation.
Post-graduation, Anthony immersed himself within the casino gaming industry as an artist and animator. Over the next 12 years, Anthony rose from Artist/Animator, to Lead Animator, and ultimately Lead Artist.
Over the same period of time, Anthony’s passion for the arts branched out from visual to performance as he began to moonlight as an actor. Taking on supporting roles in various film, television, stage, and commercial projects, as well as motion capture work, Anthony’s body of acting work includes notable television shows such as Snowpiercer and The Flash, and a staging of the racially charged play Dutchman.
In 2008, Anthony experienced a rekindling of his love for painting and returned to creating personal works of art. Reconnecting to his artistic roots, in 2014 Anthony launched ADO Works, an art studio through which he creates mixed media paintings, illustrations and animations. In 2016 Anthony curated his first solo painting exhibition And the Monkey Flips the Switch showcasing; a series of black and white oil paintings conveying Anthony’s personal reflections on social evolution through the cycle of life. The show also acted as a soft-launch for a line of designer shirts featuring prints from his ongoing painting collections produced under ADO Works.
Anthony currently resides in Vancouver, where he continues working on various fine art, clothing and animation projects.
