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JOHN SPROUL, March of the Fireflies, 36x48", acrylic on canvas, 2024
John Sproul (b. Los Angeles, CA) makes work using family, friends, and people he encounters in places he frequents to examine... how we share spaces, expressing the fear, anxiety, self-doubt, loneliness and resilience he sees in himself and in those around him.
Sproul earned a BFA from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT.
The artist has held 26 solo exhibitions and participated in over 100 group exhibitions internationally. These include notable venues such as the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts in Salt Lake City, the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art in Salt Lake City, The Painting Center in New York, the CICA Museum in Gimpo, South Korea, Bipolar Projects in Barcelona, Galerie Metanoia in Paris, The Kunstwerk Carlshutte in Germany, the Imagoars Center for Visual Arts in Venice, Italy, and the Sienna Art Institute in Italy.
As an arts advocate, he served on the Executive Committee of the UMFA's FOCA from 2006 to 2013, acting as Chair in 2013. He founded and directed the Foster Art Program from 2009 to 2011 and the Utah Contemporary Art Think Tank from 2010 to 2011. He also owned and directed Nox Contemporary Art Gallery from 2010 to 2022, served on the board of Southwest Contemporary Art Magazine from 2023 to 2024, and has been the director of The Art Group since 2007.
He is scheduled to have his 27th solo exhibition at the UVU Museum in Orem, UT, in June 2025, and will attend the Chateau D’Orquevaux Artist Residency in Orquev Read more
The Bearded Lady
36x48"
acrylic on canvas
2025
36x48"
acrylic on canvas
2025
Das Boots
48x36"
acrylic on canvvas
2025
48x36"
acrylic on canvvas
2025
Lisbon
72x60"
acrylic on canvas
2024
72x60"
acrylic on canvas
2024
I create art to articulate the emotional states that I am unable to access directly. Making paintings, drawings and monoprints I use family, friends, and people I encounter at the dinner table, hiking trails, concerts, museums, and the subway. The work looks at how we share these spaces, expressing feelings of fear, anxiety, self-doubt, loneliness and resilience I see in myself and in those around me. It is a mirror to our modern disconnection populated by selfies, likes, and algorithms, slowly unraveling the myth of how it is to be seen in this age.
In the work, figures are in groups, held in a place away from the others, trapped in isolation forever unable to connect or touch one another. Locked into this, even when looking, the figures fail to see one another. Acidic, abraded, and charged colors encapsulate each figure in a psychological space of quiet longingness.
The process of making art informs the way I live. The ritual of artmaking helps me to dismantle the protective barriers I built to survive in the social systems around me. Through this journey, I discover and embrace the power of connection, honesty, and generosity.
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