Joel Rea (born January 27, 1983) is an Australian artist known for his surreal, photorealistic oil on canvas works.

Highly acclaimed and multi award-winning, Rea’s allegorical paintings stand somewhere between genres of hyperrealism, photorealism and virtuosic Renaissance realism. He has exhibited his paintings in galleries and public spaces since 2004 and is held in numerous public and private collections worldwide. Collectors of Rea's artworks include UFC commentator & comedian Joe Rogan, fashion editor & writer Tim Blanks, Author Chris Salgardo. Rea has been profiled by such art publications as Juxtapoz, VICE Arts, Beautiful Bizarre, WideWalls, Art Business News & Huffington Post Arts.

Early life and education
Rea was born in Teesside, Middlesbrough, England in 1983. He moved to Australia with his family at the age of two. He is a distant relative of Chris Rea.

Rea received his early education from Palm Beach Currumbin State High School. He graduated from the Queensland College of Art, Griffith University in 2003 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts.

Career
In 2006, Rea's debut solo painting exhibition, "High Fidelity", was entirely purchased by an art collector prior to its public unveiling. The following year, his piece "Killing Me Softly" fetched an unprecedented AU$30,000, marking a personal record for a single artwork sale.

Rea's artistic accolades continued in 2011 when his piece, "Moment of Truth", was shortlisted for the prestigious Metro Art Award. In 2013, American magazine Art Business News selected Joel Rea as one of 30 artists under the age of 30 who are revolutionizing the world of fine arts. In 2019, renowned American comedian Joe Rogan acquired a Rea painting, further cementing the artist's prominent standing in the art world.

Exhibitions
Rea's work has been exhibited in galleries and public spaces such as Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York City, HOFA Gallery in Los Angeles, Gold Coast City Art Gallery in Gold Coast, Australia.

Awards and recognition
 Griffith Award for Excellence in Fine Art
 Redland Gallery Art Award, Cleveland
 Metro Art Award by Metro Gallery, Melbourne
 Black Swan Prize for Portraiture, Perth
 Salon des Refusés, Sydney
 Sulman Prize
 Mosman Art Prize
 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize
 Fleurieu Art Prize
 ANL Maritime Award, Melbourne
 Brisbane Portrait Prize

References

Living people
1983 births
Australian artists
Australian people of Italian descent
British emigrants to Australia
Queensland College of Art alumni