MONROE — The artwork of illustrator Joe Hox, will be on exhibit in the SSM Health/Monroe Clinic Galleries until Feb. 10, 2022.  

Raised on a farm in southern Iowa, Hox’s art captures a storybook version of his youth. As an illustrator, he states, “The art in the show consists mostly of pencil sketches and digital drawing,” that works to “convey the same mirth” he experienced as a kid “climbing on gates to commune with curious cows.” Hox invites the public to “momentarily step out of a world of pandemics, paperwork and politics and into the setting of a charming story.”

Hox received his BA in Studio Art, Art History, and Art Education from Dordt College in Iowa and his MA in Art Education from the University of Nebraska. Today he lives with his wife, author Kate Hox, and their four children in Pella, Iowa, just a stone’s throw away from the family farm.  

Excited to share Joe Hox’s work with the local community, Brenda Bloom, MAC Gallery Director, said, “We are so pleased to have Joe Hox’s work here in the Monroe Clinic Galleries. His humorous spin and sensitive approach to rural life are imaginative and approachable.”

Step inside the childhood and beauty that lies in the region, described by Hox as “farmland dappled with ponds, thick timber, and shale hills.”  

This exhibit has been supported by MAC Corporate Underwriter Colony Brands, Inc. and Season Media Underwriter Big Radio, with additional support from Mike and Shelley Muranyi, Paul and Sue Barrett, NS Jan Johnson, David, and Janeen Babler, and Chuck and Chris Wellington.