Joe Aker is an internationally recognized architectural photographer and artist. His architectural photography has appeared in all the major architectural magazines and he has photographed projects for major architects and developers such as Hines, Transwestern, DMJM, Rotett Studio, Cesar Pelli, Robert Stern, HOK, Gensler, Kirksey, Picard Chilton, Skidmore Owings Merrill and Duda Paine worldwide. He was recognized as Artist of the Year by the Houston AIA chapter in 2007. He grew up in Oklahoma City and has degrees in Marketing and Economics from Central State University in Edmond, Oklahoma and a degree in Photography
from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.
He has worked professionally in photography since 1960 including the areas of portrait photography, fashion, newspaper photography, medical photography and commercial/annual report photography. He opened his own photography studio in 1978 and continues to operate it today as Aker Imaging. His first 35 years (1978-2000) of Architectural Photography has been acquired by the University of Houston Special Collections Library as the Joe Aker Architectural Archive. The remainder of the current work will go to the Library upon his retirement. From 1963 to 1975, his work was exhibited in over 150 photographic salons worldwide.
In 2005, Joe began to exhibit again his own fine art work in galleries and museums. He has had two solo shows at the Deborah Colton Gallery in Houston and a solo show of his landscape photography in Galveston at the Buchanan Gallery. In the summer of
2011, he has had solo shows at Frank Picture Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, California, Mixed Emotions Gallery Houston and mArchitects Houston. He has made permanent installations of his art work at the Gertner Performing Arts Center at Sam Houston State University Conroe Texas, Crown Castle Corporation Houston, Lone Star Campus Woodlands, George R. Brown Convention Center Houston and Dow Chemical. His work has appeared in numerous museum group shows and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He has lectured on photography worldwide. His work is also in many corporate and personal collections including Chase Bank, Methodist Hospital, HEB, University of Texas University Lands, Crown Castle, Sam Houston State University, North Texas University Denton and Maverick Oil. He was merited with Best of Show at a recent juried competition for the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas.
from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.
He has worked professionally in photography since 1960 including the areas of portrait photography, fashion, newspaper photography, medical photography and commercial/annual report photography. He opened his own photography studio in 1978 and continues to operate it today as Aker Imaging. His first 35 years (1978-2000) of Architectural Photography has been acquired by the University of Houston Special Collections Library as the Joe Aker Architectural Archive. The remainder of the current work will go to the Library upon his retirement. From 1963 to 1975, his work was exhibited in over 150 photographic salons worldwide.
In 2005, Joe began to exhibit again his own fine art work in galleries and museums. He has had two solo shows at the Deborah Colton Gallery in Houston and a solo show of his landscape photography in Galveston at the Buchanan Gallery. In the summer of
2011, he has had solo shows at Frank Picture Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, California, Mixed Emotions Gallery Houston and mArchitects Houston. He has made permanent installations of his art work at the Gertner Performing Arts Center at Sam Houston State University Conroe Texas, Crown Castle Corporation Houston, Lone Star Campus Woodlands, George R. Brown Convention Center Houston and Dow Chemical. His work has appeared in numerous museum group shows and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. He has lectured on photography worldwide. His work is also in many corporate and personal collections including Chase Bank, Methodist Hospital, HEB, University of Texas University Lands, Crown Castle, Sam Houston State University, North Texas University Denton and Maverick Oil. He was merited with Best of Show at a recent juried competition for the Holocaust Museum in Houston, Texas.