John Wood
Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
(617) 661-7628
jawood@alum.mit.edu
www.woodjohn.net
Biography
Wood's interests as a child were art and science. He chose science for a career, limiting his art in those years to a few evening courses. Upon retirement (2004) he shifted his energies to "the road not taken," and has worked since to establish a professional position in art, specifically by painting large canvasses in the realist tradition (see www.woodjohn.net). His contacts in the art world have come chiefly through the Cambridge Art Association and the Addison Art Gallery. He has sold or otherwise placed about half of the 58 paintings he has produced in his present incarnation, including several commissions. Two of his paintings hang at Harvard University.
Artist's Statement
The main elements of an art work are style and content. My paintings place an unusual emphasis on content, and on objectivity. I want them to say something; to make a statement; maybe to pose a question or contain a provocative ambiguity; to be interesting. Their settings run the gamut from city streets to obscure country locations. I like it when they contain people. My paintings are large enough to set the tone of a room. I want them to awaken the sounds, smells and textures of a particular volume of the world, and make the viewer feel its air and light. My earlier career as a scientist left its stamp on me in the form of the objectivity of my art.
Artist's Résumé
Education:
BS and PhD degrees in science
Art training at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute
School of the Corcoran Gallery, Washington DC
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Massachusetts College of Art
Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Artists' Professional Toolbox, 2010-11
Memberships:
Cambridge Art Association
Concord Art Association
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Galleries:
Addison Art Gallery, Orleans (2008-10)
Juried and Invited Shows:
Jan. 20-Feb. 24 2012, "Scratching the Surface," Cambridge Art Association
Oct. 8-Nov. 13 2011, New England Invitational Show of the Rockport Art Association
Sept. 14-Oct. 16 2011, Frances N. Roddy Open Competition, Concord Art Association
May 13-June 16 2011, Northeast Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association
Jan. 8-Feb. 6 2011, Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
Oct. 9-Nov. 9 2010, Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
April 9-28 2010, “Darkness/Light,” Cambridge Art Association
April 1-Aug. 31 2010, “Food and Farming,” Nourish Restaurant, Lexington
Jan. 12-Feb. 7 2010, Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
Feb. 27-Mar. 27 2009, “Stratum,” Cambridge Art Association
Nov. 15-Jan. 13 2009, “Blue,” Cambridge Art Association
Oct. 7-Nov. 5 2008, Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
April 4-29 2008, “Interiors and Exteriors,” Cambridge Art Association
Nov. 20 2007-Jan. 19 2008, “Red,” Cambridge Art Association
Oct. 9-Nov. 7 2007, Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
May 3-18 2007, Concord Art Association “Paint the Town” Preview Show
Mar. 13-April 19 2007, “Spring,” Cambridge Art Association
Feb. 8-28 2007, “Cool,” Cambridge Art Association
Jan. 11-Feb. 18 2007, Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
Nov. 16 2006-Jan. 4 2007, “Blue,” Cambridge Art Association
Oct. 10-Nov 1 2006, Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
June 15-July 17 2006, Cape Cod Art Association, 2006 Annual New England Exhibition
April 27-May 12 2006, Concord Art Association “Paint the Town” Preview Show
Mar. 14-Apr. 8 2006, “The Way We Live,” Cambridge Art Association
Feb. 8-28 2006, “Simple Gifts,” Cambridge Art Association
Jan. 7-29 2006, Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
April Dec. 6-20 2005, Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
Solo Exhibits:
Mass. Audubon Habitat Center, Belmont Mass., May 2 - May 30, 2010
Monroe C. Gutman Library, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass.; July 2 -
August 31, 2008
Brookhaven at Lexington, 1010 Waltham Street, Lexington, Mass.; April 1 - May 30, 2008
Holzman Alumni Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.;
August 20 - December 3 2007
Wainwright Bank & Trust Company, 1 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, and the Cambridge
Art Association; April 3 - June 28 2007
Joint Exhibits:
Exhibit with Kate Gardner and Susan Spellman, Gallery Seven, Maynard, Massachusetts, Aug.
21-Oct. 2 2010
Exhibit with Sean Palfrey at Adams House, Harvard University, Oct. 25-Nov. 1 2009
Exhibit with Piero Buscaglia and Sarah Leon at Harvard Neighbors, Quincy House, Harvard
University, Nov. 10-Dec. 12 2008
