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Joe Andoe

American, b. 1955

Birth PlaceTulsa, Oklahoma, United States, North America

BiographyJoe Andoe (born 1955) is an American artist, painter, and author.

Andoe was born on December 5, 1955 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the 1970s Andoe spent most of his time partying, drinking alcohol and doing drugs. He was previously arrested for reckless driving and drug possession. In an interview with National Public Radio, Andoe stated that the friends he knew during that era either died or went to prison.

Although Andoe loved to draw, he never created works when he was younger, as he thought that painting was not something that men did and he also needed a steady income that he did not pursue as an artist. Andoe first realized that painting could be his career when he was enrolled in community college studying agricultural business. He was taking an elective class in art history when he learned about artists such as Robert Smithson and Dennis Oppenheim. He soon changed his major and eventually earned a Master's Degree in Art from the University of Oklahoma in 1981.

After college, Andoe began pushing his works on different museums in New York. He later married and moved to New York in 1985. Andoe continued drinking and using drugs, and his marriage later fell apart. One of the reasons he left Tulsa was due to the Tulsa Museum refusing to hang any of his art work. However, the museum was later forced to hang his artwork as it was part of a traveling show from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

After his divorce, Andoe began to receive a following and quit drinking. He continues to paint and currently lives in New York City.

Person TypeIndividual