Joseph Maruska, an internationally recognized artist, is a native Californian of Czechoslovakian and Hispanic decent. Maruska's paintings on masonite panels have a powerful sense of presence and are characterized by a unique mix of intricate drawings and abstract elements. There exists in his work a simple, undeniable integrity in the expression and in the images. The integration of color, mood, form, and composition create a unity, which is both understated and deeply moving. 

At first glance, Maruska's work would appear to be Abstract Expressionist, however the iconoclastic artist considers his work post-modernist. His works have been compared to Robert Motherwell or Franz Kline, although some works have added elements reminiscent of Richard Diebenkorn. His concerns, as expressed through his artistic endeavor include an ongoing investigation into form and irreducibly aesthetic properties. His method is at once deeply intuitive and intensely physical. Maruska has managed to incorporate what he calls a dictating under-structure. The underlying structure is that of a series of intricate drawings executed in modeling paste. These drawings create a situation from which to paint out of and eventually serve as a counter-balance to his work.

Strong forms against a richly textured ground of natural earth tones embody a feeling of tension resolved or harmony achieved through maintaining visual forces in balance. The artist's paintings abound in ochre, brown, gamboge, sand, muted gold and a range of crystal blues. The effect of the inevitable forces of nature are evident in his work, which evokes the patina and variegated palettes of ancient English castle ruins and distant crumbling walls bathed in the late afternoon light of autumn. Their effect on the viewer is at once a surface impact and a visceral one, which ultimately leads one to a serene emotional affinity.

There is an inescapable first sense of the stoical, or even of brooding, to these paintings. What is unveiled is that nuances carry the sense of the work as often as the more obvious hulking forms do. His intention is to share his feelings and to help give rise to similar feeling in others. The artist feels a deep reluctance to entitle works. The consequence is that the viewer is misled, feeling that they must be directed by the title. Maruska prefers that people come to his works unfettered, able to bring their own experiences, their own psychological set to the painting. Each viewer completes the artwork for himself, and the freer the experience, the more honest the completion. 

While collectors throughout the world seek after Maruska’s work, he believes that art can touch everyone. His work has become so prized among collectors that the young artist paints constantly to create new works to keep up with the intense demand from his shows around the globe.

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