An Evening with Josh Tiessen: Wisdom in Creation

The Anselm Society is excited to welcome back artist and speaker Josh Tiessen this summer for an evening of art, reflection, and conversation. Josh has been recognized worldwide as one of the world's top art prodigies, but his theological studies have kept pace with his mastery of his craft. We are incredibly fortunate to have him with us.

We’ll gather at the historic Peel House for dessert and a Q&A following his presentation. Josh will share his story of becoming a professional fine artist, and the creative process behind his hyper-realistic paintings, which take up to 1,700 hours to complete. He’ll introduce his latest painting series and book, Vanitas + Viriditas (Latin for Vanity and Vitality), and explore the biblical theme of wisdom in creation.

Together, we’ll consider how we can steward both our creative gifts and the world around us.

A bit more info

Josh Tiessen creates what he calls "Narrative Hyper-Surrealism"—hyper-detailed oil paintings that take up to 1700 hours to complete, often depicting animals reclaiming abandoned human structures in a visual theology of creation's resilience. Working on shaped, often non-rectangular canvases that echo medieval iconography, he draws deeply from Scripture (particularly Isaiah's vision of streams in the wasteland) to challenge the anthropocentric Greek philosophy that he believes has distorted Christian thinking about the natural world. (“What?” Don’t worry, we’ll get into that!)

This is an artist who understands that the first subject matter for painting was animal, that the first paint was likely animal blood, and who sees his studio practice as a form of contemplative stewardship—spending months with each creature he paints until it becomes a meditation on wonder, particularity, and the intrinsic value of God's creation. His work embodies exactly what we mean by the Christian imagination: seeing heaven in the things of earth, finding the sacred not by escaping the material world but by diving deeper into its God-given meaning and beauty.

Biography

Josh Tiessen was born in 1995 in Moscow, Russia to Canadian missionary parents. He is an international award-winning artist, based out of his Studio Gallery near Toronto, Canada. Tiessen is best known for hyper-surreal shaped oil paintings, which draw upon his studies in philosophy and eco-theology. He holds a B.R.E. in Arts, Biblical Studies, and Philosophy (Emmanuel Bible College) and an M.A. in Art History (University of Toronto). Tiessen has exhibited his work since 2006 in over 100 shows including the National Gallery of Canada, and has had solo exhibitions in galleries from New York to Los Angeles.

Appearing in Forbes, Huffington Post, American Art Collector, and Fine Art Connoisseur for his art and philanthropy, Tiessen is also a sought-after speaker, lecturing at conferences and universities. His essays have been published in magazines such as Christianity Today’s Ekstasis and Image Journal. He is the subject of three art monograph books, including Streams in the Wasteland (2021), which features paintings and written commentary inspired by Isaiah and biblical themes of creation care, and Vanitas + Viriditas (2024), espousing the ecological wisdom found in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs. Despite his early success, Tiessen humbly acknowledges that his artistic talent is a gift from God and seeks to draw people back to the Creator through his art and writing.

You can find his work at www.joshtiessen.com and on Instagram @joshtiessen