JOHNNELSON john nelson johnrandallnelson johnnelson whonelson johnnelsonartist johnnelsonart artwork art artist painting painter arizona grove johnnelsonpublicart drawing sculpture publicart installat

“These sly paintings conjure cartoons, found signage, and modern hieroglyphs, and tie them together with lusciously patinated surfaces.” Kathryn M. Davis for ARTnews. Click here to read.

New American Paintings, Publisher’s pick, June 7, 2012. “Bluntly rendered, the work is textured with ghostly pentimenti, the hint of submerged words bleeding through a milky layered ground.” Click here for Review.

“Nelson’s work is at once urban and rustic, unsettling and folksy—reminiscent of San Francisco’s Mission School in the ’90s.” Rani Molla. Click here to read.

“By manipulating the relationship between form and symbolism, Nelson encourages viewers to create connections, to assert their own ideas and interpretations. Each painting is a visual crossword or jigsaw puzzle; the rich symbolic metaphors both idiosyncratic and universal.”   Click here for Review.

“Painting is a language that is more devious than words, more free to imply and allude, to strike out one way and then circle back, keeping disparate intentions alive. The ambiguous is intrinsically more interesting to me. It forces reexamination and adds tension.” Two new pieces will be appearing in volumes 19 and 20 of Studio Visit Magazine, to be released this winter. See pages 122 and 123.   Click here  to download volume 19.

A exhibition of paintings and sculptures at Stremmel Gallery (Reno, NV) in conjunction the Nevada Museum of Art. Click here  for Images and Bio.

SITE Santa Fe: a non-profit contemporary arts organization based in Santa Fe. “Site Unseen ’13” art auction. Click here to read.

Whacked, Nonplussed1, and Punch n’ Judy are featured at the 2012 TCA Biennial.   Click here for Review.