John Newsom

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John Newsom is an American painter best known for his thickly layered, gestural paintings of pastoral flora and fauna subject matter.

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John Newsom

Early life and education

(Born 1970 in Hutchinson, Kansas) Newsom grew up in Kansas and Oklahoma. He completed high school in 1988 at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy located in northern Michigan. In 1992 he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Rhode Island School of Design and subsequently moved to New York City, where he attended New York University’s studio arts program. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree from NYU at the age of 24. [1] He has lived and worked in New York City for the past thirty years.

Career

Painting

Newsom is best known for combining multiple techniques of formal painting strategies onto large canvases, featuring dynamic spectacles of the natural world. His paintings are created by overlapping coats of heavy oil paint which give rise to a highly gestural and intuitive formal vocabulary. Evenly toned backgrounds of color are juxtaposed with expressionistic splashes of white oil paint. [2] In an added surface, Newsom paints recurrent monochromatic geometric shapes such as squares or circles in a hard-edge manner. He then renders the subject matter with a densely thick layering of various brushstrokes. Newsom consistently paints a wide variety of animals and flora. [3] His reduced subject matter and calligraphic style, has been compared to the works of Philip Guston, for the reason that by focusing on a limited, but meaningful subject matter, an individual technique matures. [4]

In addition, notable formal influences are identified in Newsom’s first monograph of mature work, 'Allegories of Naturalism' (2003-2010), published by CHARTA in Milan in 2010. Henri Matisse, whose bold colors and "formalist strategy of allover composition" is named. Newsom's signature white splashes are also noted, which call to mind Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings. His most recent works present iconic close-ups of owls rendered in a dense impasto buildup of black and white oil paint. In August 2012, Newsom was ranked 47th among the Top 100 contemporary artists by Flash Art Magazine. [5]

Personal life

Newsom lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Cassie Newsom and their two children Luke and Ruby Newsom.

Recent solo exhibitions

2024

New Growth in an Old Garden, Kunstverein Heppenheim, Heppenheim, Germany (forthcoming)

Forest of the Happy Ever After (The complete paintings for the album by Killah Priest) The Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Brattleboro, VT (forthcoming)

2023

Universal Frontier, Mark Arts Center, Wichita, KS (cat.)

2022

Nature’s Course, Oklahoma Contemporary Museum & Arts Center, Oklahoma City, OK (cat.)

Classical Elements, COUNTY, Palm Beach, FL (two-artist exhibition with Raymond Pettibon) (cat.)

2019

Eye of the Beholder, Contra Gallery, Ljubljana, Slovenia

2018

Shangri-La, Brintz Gallery, Palm Beach, FL (cat.)

2016

Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles, CA (West Gallery) (two-artist exhibition with Rinus Van De Velde)

2015

Marc Straus Gallery, New York, NY (cat.)

Rogue Arena, MANA Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ (cat.)

2013

Bestiary, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, NY

2011-2012

Crescendo, The Richard J. Massey Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, New York, NY (cat.)

2011

Nocturne Paintings, Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles, CA (cat.)

Motifs and Methods, Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles, CA (cat.)

2009

Beyond the Horizon, Patrick Painter Inc., Los Angeles, CA

Rebels and Raptors, Lattuada Gallery, Milan, Italy (cat.)

Publications

2023

John Newsom: Universal Frontier, Wichita: Mark Arts.

2022

John Newsom: Nature’s Course, Oklahoma City: Oklahoma Contemporary Museum.

John Newsom / Raymond Pettibon: Classical Elements, Palm Beach: COUNTY.

2018

John Newsom: Shangri-La, Palm Beach: Brintz Gallery.

2015

John Newsom: Rogue Arena, New York: Mana Contemporary / Marc Straus Gallery.

2011

John Newsom: Crescendo, Milan: Charta.

2010

John Newsom: Allegories of Naturalism, Milan: Charta.

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References

  1. ↑ John Newsom, [http://Marc Straus.com/artist/johnnewsom/cv.html Resume], (retrieved September 14, 2012)
  2. ↑ Robert C. Morgan (2007), John Newsom: Allegory of Nations, The Brooklyn Rail (retrieved September 14, 2012)
  3. ↑ John Newsom: Allegory of Nations, Mike Weiss Gallery, November 18, 2006–December 31, 2006 (retrieved September 14, 2012)
  4. ↑ Marc J. Straus, Plan B, in: John Newsom: Allegories of Naturalism, Milan: Charta, 2010, p. 10. ISBN   8881588013
  5. ↑ Flash Art Magazine, Issue #285 Archived 2012-09-20 at the Wayback Machine , (retrieved September 14, 2012)
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