John Newsom

John Newsom (born 1970 in Hutchinson, Kansas) is an American painter best known for his thickly layered, gestural paintings of pastoral flora and fauna subject matter.

Early life and education
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.

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. 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. 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. Moreover, Newsom’s work has been interpreted as allegorical still lifes that capture the essence of Darwinism: "The tradition of the great naturalists – creating works of art that explore the complex relationships in nature."

However, Newsom’s oeuvre is not only inspired by the thoughts and musings of Charles Darwin, but also by the artwork of the early French-American watercolorist John James Audubon. The momentous color-plate book by Audubon, The Birds of America, (1827 – 1839) features detailed studies of birds in their habitats, and promoted the discipline of ornithology throughout the United States. Equally so, Newsom is concerned with what the art critic Robert C. Morgan called "veritable exegesis on survival and pathology."

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.

His work is represented by MARC STRAUS in New York, and Patrick Painter Inc. in Los Angeles.

Curatorial practice
In addition to his painting practice, John Newsom is an active curator and writer. In 2011 he curated the exhibition 'CIRCA 1986' at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art (with Nicola Trezzi and Astrid Honold). In 2008, he curated and wrote the accompanying catalogue essay for 'Markus Lüpertz: Tent Paintings 1965', held at Patrick Painter Inc. in Los Angeles, CA.

Personal life
Newsom lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife Cassie Newsom and their son Luke Newsom. His studio is located in the SoHo district of lower Manhattan.

Recent solo exhibitions

 * 2013 MARC STRAUS, Bestiary, New York NY (forthcoming)
 * 2011-2012 The Richard J. Massey Foundation for the Arts and Sciences, Crescendo, New York NY (cat.)
 * 2011 Patrick Painter Inc., Nocturne Paintings, Los Angeles CA, Patrick Painter Inc., Motifs and Methods, Los Angeles CA
 * 2009 Patrick Painter Inc., Beyond the Horizon, Los Angeles CA, Lattuada Gallery, Rebels and Raptors, Milan, Italy (cat.)

Publications

 * 2015 John Newsom: Paintings and Works on Paper 2012-2015, New York: MARC STRAUS. (forthcoming)
 * 2011 John Newsom: Crescendo, Milan: Charta.
 * 2010 John Newsom: Allegories of Naturalism, Milan: Charta.