John, Gary

John, Gary

John, Gary

Gary John has been a street artist since 1985. Originally from Seattle, Washington, he moved to Venice Beach, California in the early part of 2004 and began selling art on the boardwalk. After almost 10 years on the boardwalk and having a period of homelessness, he exploded onto the international art scene during Art Basel Miami 2013. In 2014 his career moved even further ahead by being chosen as one of 20 standout artists at the N.Y. Affordable Art Fair. He has since participated in many Los Angeles area gallery exhibitions as well as international art fairs throughout North America. He has been collected by art lovers worldwide.

John says Pablo Picasso, Keith Haring, and Jean-Michel Basquiat are his artistic inspirations. Other influences are comic books and American pop culture.

His street artworks have a whimsical quality, inspired by classic cartoon and comic book characters rendered with acrylic paint in bold graffiti style, on newspaper, magazine pages and cardboard.

John says about his artworks: “I grew up in a dysfunctional, alcohol filled home. It actually pushed me away from drugs and alcohol. I have never drunk any liquor, smoked, or done any drugs. I always got lost in my art as an escape. There is not enough time in the day to do all the painting I want to do. I’m consumed with it”.

Exhibitions:

2015 LA Art Show, Los Angeles, Ca.
2015 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs, Ca.
2014 Red Dot Art Fair, Miami, Fl.
2014 Kunstwarenhaus, Zurich, Switzerland
2014 Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca.
2014 Houston Fine Art Fair, Houston, Texas
2014 Artspace Warehouse, Los Angeles, Ca.
2014 Love Art Toronto Fair, Toronto, Canada
2014 Stand Arte Gallery, Madrid, Spain
2014 Affordable Art Fair N.Y., New York City, New York
2014 Affordable Art Fair London, London, England
2014 Palm Springs Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs, Ca.
2013 SCOPE, Miami Beach, Fl.
2013 Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca.
2013 Hampton’s Art Fair, Bridgehampton, N.Y.
2003 – 2013 Venice Beach Boardwalk, Venice, Ca.
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