Foley grew up in Launceston, Tasmania, where he currently lives and works. After he completed his TCE, Foley followed his interest in art and obtained a Bachelor of Contemporary Arts with Honours from the University of Tasmania, graduating in 2004.[1]
Foley was awarded the Glover Prize in 2011; making him the youngest artist, at age 27, to achieve this.[2]
In 2013, he won the Burnie Regional Art Gallery TasART award.[3]
In 2016 Josh undertook a Bundanon Trust residency, at the former property of Australian artist Arthur Boyd and now an artists retreat in NSW.[4] Among his many residencies, in schools and colleges in Tasmania,[5] Foley has also in 2015, undertaken a three-month residency at the Cité internationale des arts in Paris.[6]
Since graduating from art school in 2004, Foley has led an experimental practice, playing with and developing a number of different painting styles and concepts.[7] More recently, he has begun to focus on what he describes as ParametricPainting, "representing the illusion of a surface through the use of paint."[8] Foley continues to extend the parameters of his painting, through installation, performance and painting directly on the gallery wall.[9][10]
In addition to his easel based work, Foley has completed a series large scale public art commissions[11] around Tasmania, the most recent of these for Taroona High School, south of Hobart.[12] In 2021 Foley created a large mural at the Launceston Acquatic Centre depicting olympic gold medalist swimmer Ariarne Titmus, for Nike, Inc. one of her sponsors.[13]
