John Randall Nelson

Artist Works

White Poe - 2009
55 x 40 inches Mixed media

Artist Bio

In an era of specialization, Arizona artist John Nelson–painter, sculptor, and printmaker, –stands as the exception, a jack of all trades and a master of many. As a painter he’s developed a reputation for his inward-looking emulation of outsider art. As a sculptor, he has completed projects as monumental as the 35 foot high, Harry Above the Crowd, sited in Tempe Arizona’s historic Old Town.

The visual storyteller has evolved into an eclectic collector of visual associations and psychological dislocations. The %uFB01gures and objects in his paintings are both familiar and ambiguous; taken as a group the images present a kind of stream of consciousness that reminds the viewer of many things at once: childhood dreams, signs and symbols, antiquated trademarks, folk tales and postcards from abroad. (The free association shows up most clearly in his mixed media paintings and constructions.) Nelson’s art re%uFB02ects sources from popular culture such as cartoons, decals and tattooing and it is to a large degree graphic. Physically the images are striking.                           

                                                                                                                                                                       -Marta Baker

Education

1995 Herberger College of Fine Arts, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. MFA.

Solo Exhibitions

2009 Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
2009 Gebert Contemporary, Scottsdale, Arizona.
2008 Gebert Gallery, Los Angeles, California.
2008 Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, California.
2007 Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2007 Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, Washington.
2007 Bentley Projects, Phoenix, Arizona.
2006 Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, Washington.
2006 Chiaroscuro, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2006 Bentley Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona.
2005 Bentley Projects, Phoenix, Arizona.
2005 Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, California.
2005 Chiaroscuro, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2004 Gallerie Materia, Scottsdale, Arizona
2004 Chiaroscuro, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
2004 Marguerite Oestreicher, New Orleans, Louisiana.
2003 Vanier Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona.
2001 Vanier Contemporary Art, Tucson, Arizona.
2000 Vanier Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona.
1999 In Process: A Ten Year Retrospective, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.

Group Exhibitions (selected)

2009 Annual Salon Show, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
2008 Art HK 08, Gebert Contemporary, Hong Kong, China
2008 Art 20, Gebert Contemporary, Park Avenue Armory, New York, NY
2008 Building a Collection, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
2008 Los Angeles Art Show, Gebert Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2007 Arizona Triennial, Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ
2007 Los Angeles Art Show, Gebert Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Red Dot Fair, Miami, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, Miami Beach, FL
2005 Chicago Contemporary, Gebert Contemporary, Chicago,IL
2004 SOFA Chicago, Galleria Materia, Chicago, IL
2004 Artists' Books, Studio Lodo, Phoenix, Arizona.
2003 Peaceable Kingdom, Herberger Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona.
2002 Steeped in Traditions, Mesa Art Museum, Mesa, Arizona.
2002 Paintings and Drawings, Terrance Denley, Birmingham, Alabama.
2001 Works on Paper, Vanier Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona.
2000 In the Garden, Sky Harbor Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona.
2000 Millennial Reflections, Sky Harbor Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona.


Public and Corporate Collections (selected)

Fenmore-Craig, Las Vegas, NV
Bio 5, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Apple Inc., Cupertino, CA
Phoenix Public Art and Design, City of Phoenix, PHX, AZ
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona.
Wells Fargo Bank, Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Municipal Arts Commission, Tempe, Arizona.
Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus, Scottsdale, Arizona.
Nordstrom Inc., Seattle, WA
Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona.
The Tamarind Institute, U. of New Mexico, Albuquerque.
Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
The United States Postal Service. Washington, DC.
Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix, Arizona.
The Perrier Corporation. Paris, France.
The Carter Center at Emory University. Atlanta, Georgia.
Intel Corporation, Phoenix, Arizona.
Borland International, Los Gatos, California.
Haarmann-Reimer GMbH, Holzminder, Germany.
Chase Bank, New York, New York.