John Wood followed his passion for art through high school and undergraduate studies in Utah, and went on to earn his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan. He has since lived and worked in New York City, Utah, Florida, Michigan, and California.
In addition to producing his own art, he has inspired many through independent mural projects with children of all ages in Utah, New York and California. He has taught at Cranbrook Academy Museum, through the NEA Artist-in-Education Program, and as head of the fine arts department at Judge Memorial Catholic High School in Salt Lake City.
The San Francisco Bay Area has been John’s home for the past 10+ years and making art continues to be, even more than ever, the central focus of his life and he regularly exhibits his work throughout Northern California, among other locals.
John Wood has been represented in California by: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, Hallway Bathroom Gallery, Big Pagoda Company, Oakopolis Creativity Center, Cecile Moochnek Gallery, K.Imperial Fine Art, and Hyde Street Gallery. A review by Kenneth Baker (SF Chronicle) of a recent one-person exhibit at Hyde Street Gallery can be read here. In Salt Lake City he is represented by Phillips Gallery and in Denver by Space Gallery.
“I search for a way to visualize rapture.
My interests are in the sensual, seductive qualities in life and I attempt to convey them through my art. I seek the sublime – those moments when images, sounds or emotions transport me – and I strive to create similar sensations in my art.
I love the tactile feel of drawing on paper. It has a rich, skin-like quality that yields to my marks in a way that canvas or a harder surface cannot.
Typically, I begin by working directly with a model, looking to find a connection between the figure, the drawing, and my own esthetic. Successive layers of graphite, crayon, oil pastel, pigment stick, and/or enamel combine to build each work of art. The back-and-forth “dialog” between the image and me often feels like a performance.
Finally, I mount the drawing to a panel and apply several layers of wax to seal and protect the surface. In this way, I try minimize the feeling of separation between the art and the viewer that often occurs when the drawings are behind glass. I want the viewer to be a part of the total experience.”
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