Featured Artist John Sheridan

Artist John Sheridan poses difficult societal questions through his hard-hitting conceptual sculpture. See more of his portfolio by visiting his website.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Honey I’m Home” sculptural collage, 16″ x 7″ x 5″

 

I was five and saw my mother’s just opened box of pastels, arranged beautifully in rows of colors—I felt I had my first near religious symbolic experience like a gilded, revealed altarpiece.

Art meant nothing to me then. It’s come to mean almost everything to me since.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“MEGADEMIC. We are the Good Monsters” sculptural collage, 13″ x 25″ x 25″

 

In school I stopped spontaneously drawing and turned to Latin and academic classes to aim for medical school. I started to become interested in girls, who were more exciting. I was a good student, although extremely neglected. Living in a tragically dysfunctional family, I battled the terrible, invisible cultural demons of industrial capitalism I only partially understood.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Gun Happy – 10 percent off Ammo at Walmart” sculptural collage, 8″ x 17″ x 16″

 

I was accepted into a prestigious, accelerated medical school program at Michigan that promised an MD in just six years rather than the usual eight. However, after my freshman year, I began taking art classes. A friend, whose uncle, the Director of New York City’s Pierpont Morgan Library, gave me catalogues of art exhibits and auctions.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Night Moves of the Living Dead” sculptural collage, 17″ x 17″ x 2″

 

I realized art had a story, a history and a cast of amazing characters. Utterly fascinated and hooked, I quit medical school to everyone’s astonishment and transferred to the College of Art. I’ve never regretted my decision to become the person I wanted to be, a sophisticated artist searching only for wisdom and insight through art.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“January Suxth” sculptural collage, 16″ x 36″ x 36″

 

I finished my BFA in Boston, then graduate school at CCAC in Oakland. I had thought that people in California were very open-minded, experimental, accepting and adventurous. That was not the case at CCAC and I left after one semester. I did like the weather, however, and remained in the Bay Area.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Religion Battles Ghost Planes from the Past” sculptural collage, 16″ x 14″ x 14″

 

I’ve experimented with video and performance art; then painting I’m very proud of. I combined abstract process techniques over which I painted compelling American working class commercial figurative imagery found in film posters, old sexy pulp illustrations, car ads and sensational language as seen in “Heaven’s My Destination,” “ZIP!” and “The Bubbles Attack, ” all of which can be seen on my site.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Tears for the Women We Kill” sculptural collage, 17″ x 17″ x 2″

 

I saw a way to use very accessible, common popular imagery to take the “known” and reveal the “unknown” and experimental mind.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Kansas” sculptural collage, 8″ x 14″ x 9″

 

In 2018, after many mass shootings, I had a vision of a rifle made of bones, and began creating hard-hitting conceptual sculpture that is not for the average viewer, but only for those who seek a similar level of enlightenment.

I ask hard questions. “Can a remorselessly profit-and-violence driven society expect art?”

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“The One Way Door” sculptural collage, 12″ x 14″ x 12″

 

I can’t create decorative and pretty art that flatters class conceits. I must create work that directly deals with the issues of out-of-control gun violence and militarism, as well as the oppression of money. However, I add wit and humor to my creations which are as equally important as justifiable outrage creating satirical, parodistic works that quote our virtually cartoon quality society. There is hope in my work, because if they resonate with viewers, perhaps they will feel compelled to do something about the issues represented.

 

sculptural collage by John Sheridan

“Who Won the Battle of Skull Mountain?” sculptural collage, 20″ x 18″ x 18″

 

I’ve also created the first ever regional art prize for Bay Area artists; finally giving all artists a place to show their work for little or no cost.

 

Artist John Sheridan invites you to follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

 

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Comments

  1. Linda Wehmueller says

    I have two tiny paintings from John. Unusual subjects from an unusal but VERY intelligent guy. He never ceases to surprise me with his art.

  2. For me, these sculptures transcend discourse. A bullet from a gun stops for no thought. Clearly, humanity needs to lower the numbers of weapons of every kind. The world is insane with them.

  3. Tomas Moran says

    John’s skill in incorporating icons we know into a scene that shakes us is brilliant, as with “Night Moves of the Living Dead” .

  4. neil maclean says

    thanks for the feature on Mr. Sheridan. The range of subjects he raises with precise messaging kills me.

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