Joan Backes (born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American artist.
Backes is known for her paintings which record different species of tree bark and for her installations, most recently her house series.
[1] Backes received her MFA in Painting from Northwestern University, Department of Art Theory and Practice where she worked with Ed Paschke and William Conger.
[3] Her installations focus on the house as image and symbol, and often incorporate site-specific materials.
Permanent installations of her work include Internationales Waldkunst Odenwald Forest, Darmstadt, Germany; Berlin / Grunewald, Berlin, Germany; Linnaean Garden, Uppsala, Sweden; Silpakorn University Art Atrium, Bangkok, Thailand; and Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Canada.