BOOKS PUBLISHED
2000 | Under the Blazing Sun
2008 | Odd Poems & Slogans
2020 | Try as I might
EXHIBITIONS
2011 | Twin Sons of Different Mothers, Bali
2003 | Under the Blazing Sun, Cairo
2003 | The Missing Artist, Norway
2001 | Under Battersea Viaduct, London, UK
2005 | Collaborative Photographic Exhibiiton of the Burren, Ennis, Ireland
John O’Sullivan was born in Sligo, Ireland in 1962. In his formative years; days and hours were spent trawling through all forms of visual magazines whilst dreaming of a world outside of the shores of Ireland while lying on his back watching the jet contrails evaporate into other worlds. He loved exploring the rugged terrain of his Emerald Isle.
The Burren, a limestone paradise, haven for flora and fauna located in County Clare, Ireland, imprinted a long-lasting impression during John’s formative years which has nurtured his imagery and frequently influenced his art and poetry both in imagery and linguistically. Through exploring the power harnessed from travel and nature,
John uses these crystallised influences to greatly influence his visual vocabulary, portraying not just what he sees, but as importantly; how he feels. John depicts vivid flowing forms of colours and shapes to craft eloquent internal poetry, thereby creating images of how he would like others to see his layered world. Structure is a friend but never guaranteed.
Art captivated him in its many forms and many a childhood trip was spent visiting art galleries and museums. He also had a fascination with sacred burial ceremonies and spaces, which still lives deeply inside him and has catalysed other parallel creative projects. Captivated by the abstract art movement, John began to experiment with mixed media and canvases, coupled with the use of words and poetry in a broad egalitarian partnership together.
Travel is another great passion for John, and he has visited more than 90 countries, indeed living in seven. Using these cultural interludes to write poetry, taking photographs and sketching, to later morph these into larger art pieces. He has held art exhibitions in Norway, London, Cairo and Bali over the last 20 years. John has also published three poetry books and has attended five Literary and Poetry festivals globally. He has also partnered with various global photographers and artists on collaborative installations and thought sharing projects featured in various global magazines and publications.
His gallery pages contain these works of art created on these many trips plus other pieces of work that are heavily influenced by Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg and Alberto Giacometti; to name but a few.
His style is one of optimistic abstraction, featuring forms which have no source at all to external visual reality; bringing to life John’s virtues of simplicity and spirituality, with the underlying premise, that art is purely about the creation of beautiful effects and without implied internal or external judgment.
Creating beautiful effects is what he excels in, using mixed medias from diverse sources including a bandwidth of contemporary and industrial materials resulting in provocative compositions featuring sublime and subliminal textural colour palettes. Using bright colours, bold canvas movements that embody his rebellious spirit;
THE IRISH ART WARRIOR
CONTACT
+77 40407822
ESKDALE TERRACE
CULLERCOATS
NE30 4PX