J. Richard Briggs (known to family and friends as “Joel”) is a fine art painter based in the Pacific Northwest working in a mode he calls ‘mythical realism,’ a visual language that fuses sacred symbolism, emotional realism, and surrealist atmosphere to explore the collision between the transcendent divine and the profoundly human. His work spans figural compositions, still life, sacred narrative, and vibrant landscapes. Through windswept fields, burning skies, and quiet stretches of wilderness, Briggs sees the natural world as far more than mere scenery but instead as sacred witness. He depicts the natural world as a place where awe, grief, and mystery converge. His paintings function as visual liturgies that carry the weight of memory and myth. His paintings offer space for reverence in a culture often stripped of the sacred.

Influenced by Byzantine iconography, Jewish visual tradition, Soviet-era sculpture, and 20th-century American regionalism, Briggs blends ancient spiritual languages with contemporary longing. His paintings are devotional while avoiding dogma. They stand as emotive icons that invite stillness, spiritual tension, and wonder. To Briggs, painting is a vocation rooted in the belief that beauty and transcendence still matter. His work seeks to reawaken sacred connectedness in a fragmented and anxious world.

CV

Education

Watts Atelier of the Arts, Encinitas, CA

Studies in Anatomical Representational Art | 2019–2020

University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

Art Studies | 2010–2011

University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

Jewish Art History | 2011

Hebrew Language Studies | 2011–2013

University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

Hebrew University – Rothberg International School, Jerusalem, Israel

Beit HaAm Community Ulpan, Jerusalem, Israel

Exhibitions

Subversive Faith – Liberty Station, San Diego, CA | October 2023

Radical Hospitality – Frame and Hang Gallery, Bellevue, KY | Spring 2018

Residencies

Artist-in-Residence, St. Thomas Church, Salem, OR | January 2025 – Present

Artist-in-Residence, Park Hill Church, San Diego, CA | August 2022 – April 2023

Member, Cincinnati Art Club | 2018–2019