Josh Richards is an artist working in a variety of forms including painting, fiber, sculpture and design. Influenced by movements such as Supports/Surfaces, Arte Povera, and Mono-Ha his work is driven by process, material, and experimentation. Some pieces test the physical limitations of paint, some are the result of process, and others are the tools or remnants of those processes.

Richards most recent body of work involves pouring paint onto found, discarded, and built surfaces to provide a barrier for the liquid to solidify and sustain a form that references and reflects the tool used to create it. The transformation of material relies on other factors as well, such as time, temperature, and moisture. For the most part these are difficult to control and result in an allowance and acceptance of experimentation and possibly failure. The process of pouring itself allows the hand to remain somewhat hidden while inadvertent gestures emerge once the paint has dried and is scraped from the surface. Although transformed with slight manipulations, the paint still exists as itself while also providing its own support, acting as an implied canvas. The works are generative, evoke both industry and craft, and the materials used to construct these objects form an interdependence. The liquid paint once held in place by the tape and wood have become one; cured and removed from the surface with only the congealed object to consider. 

Richards received his MFA in Painting from Boston University and a BA in Studio Art from the University of Kentucky. His work has been exhibited in galleries and institutions including the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Ortega y Gasset, Clark Gallery, Bolivar Gallery, The Dungeon, Hokin Gallery, Findlay Street Project Space, and Whitdel Arts Center. Josh is also the recipient of multiple grants and fellowships including a Windgate Fellowship and a Great Meadows Foundation Grant. He has also been a resident at The Wassaic Project in New York.