John Newman

(New York, New York, 1952 - )

North America, American

As an undergraduate, John Newman took advantage of a program Oberlin College offered that matched students with artists in New York City as part of their education.He chose to work with Sol LeWitt, who also asked him on occasion to work for other artists, including Robert Ryman. Newman subsequently participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art’s Independent Study Program prior to enrolling in the Yale School of Art graduate program (MFA, 1975). Initially creating large abstract sculptures that were fabricated in bronze and aluminum, Newman changed his practice after receiving a Senior Fulbright Research Grant in 1998. An avid traveler, who had already visited China, Japan and Tanzania, Newman used the grant to quit his position as Director of Graduate Studies at Yale University and live in India for a year. His stay there was followed by visits to Japan, China, Australia and Indonesia, some on multiple occasions. In the course of his journeys, the artist confined himself to working on paper, creating his first “speculative drawings.” Introduced to the craft techniques of the countries he visited, Newman returned to New York prepared to make modestly-scaled sculptures that used geometric and organic forms, unconventional materials, and a variety of surfaces. He combined hand-crafted, manufactured and found components in works that were characterized by their intimacy and eccentricity. A Visiting Critic at the School of Visual Arts in New York City since 2008, John Newman has been accorded more than 50 one-person exhibitions, including shows at Amherst College, Grand Arts in Kansas City, Colgate University and the New York Studio School. Among the public collections in which his work is represented are the Art Institute of Chicago, Brooklyn Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Philadelphia Museum and Whitney Museum of American Art.

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