Joe average artist biography death

The Canadian artist Joe Average has died at age The artist died in his sleep on 24 December at his home in Vancouver, according to social media posts by his friends and family. Average became a household name following his HIV diagnosis at age Since then, his signature Pop art imagery—which has led many to liken him to a Canadian Keith Haring—has appeared in paintings, prints, murals, postage stamps and municipal banners.

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A few weeks before his death, he was invited by the Governor General to receive the Order of Canada , the country's highest honour. The design then became the basis for an image Average painted in , entitled One World, One Hope , commissioned for the 11th international conference on Aids, held in Vancouver in His friend and former gallerist Michael Harding accompanied Average on his trip to Ottawa in early December to receive the Order of Canada.

He had everyone in stitches. His legacy of love and passion and creativity lives on. Marking the 40th anniversary of the first reported cases of the disease in the US, the Canadian artist and activist expands his One World, One Hope design to a city-sized work. The artists—and pop star Avril Lavigne—were among 83 new appointees to the Order of Canada.

The activist helped develop perhaps the most well known symbol of HIV and Aids awareness: the red ribbon.