Matt Josef is a contemporary Western artist based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Working primarily in acrylic, he blends traditional Western subjects with a modern, layered edge.

Josef began as a commissioned portrait artist around 2002 and has spent more than two decades building a career. He has set up studios across the country, worked with galleries from Taos to Scottsdale to New York, shipped artwork internationally, and placed work in private, corporate, and permanent collections, including the Omni Hotel in Oklahoma City.

His education came through mentors, collectors, road miles, and the real-world hustle of art. A formative part of that journey was Michael McCormick’s gallery in Taos, where he worked alongside prominent Southwestern artists, sold their work, and learned the art business hands-on.

Artist Statement

My work lives between worlds: traditional and modern, city and country, past and present. I grew up between my grandparents’ farm in Purcell and school in Oklahoma City, and both worlds still shape my work. I’m drawn to Western imagery because it carries memory, grit, identity, and transformation. Cowboys, horses, bison, and repeated icons become symbols of movement, survival, lineage, and becoming.

Color, prayer, and layers guide my process. I use them to build atmosphere, emotion, history, and energy. I believe art carries the spirit it was made with, so I pray into each painting, trusting it will bring something good into the space where it lives.

My hope is that the work meets people where they are, helps shape the energy of a space, and inspires viewers to become the best version of themselves.