CV/Bio
- John Sadowski creates both representational and non-representational art. His art has enjoyed a very positive response and has collectors, both private and commercial.
Sadowski for many years painted representational art, in particular local landmarks such as cafes, restaurants, and neighborhood watering holes that wear the scars of their existence giving character and personality to an inanimate subject. These paintings serve as a portrait to the artist more than they do an architectural rendering of cold brick and mortar.
Sagging roof lines and uneven features personify how life has worn these landmarks that have witnessed the expression of human emotion just as life has worn the occupants themselves.
Sadowski for over a decade has experimented with abstract, or nonrepresentational, art and insists on continually growing in art so that a complacency of materials, methods, and inspiration is not accepted.
This process is often characterized by many layers of paint that have been added and/or subtracted, sometimes with a tenacity that threatens to tear the canvas, along with a variety of mixed media and found materials.
Inspiration is often found in the surfaces of environments he has experienced. The numerous paint overs and wearing away of vintage wall surfaces is of influence although a particular wall or surface never serves as a model. The paint evolves and leads the artist to a point that he proclaims the work to be complete, the story told, the journey finished.
Sadowski finds abstract work particularly intriguing as it requires an intensity of involvement of both the artist and the observer to fulfill its potential for appreciation.
Whether representational or abstract, Sadowski’s art reflects the lifelong experience of a seasoned artist with the enthusiasm of one starting to discover artistic potential.
Sadowski’s work has been shown in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Michigan, and New Mexico.
Solo Exhibitions:
"Downtown", Downtown Memphis Commission, 2015
"Solo", Artreach Gallery, Germantown, Tn., 2013
"Two Sides to Every Story", West Tennessee Delta Heritage Center, 2013
"Memphis", D'Edge Gallery, Memphis, 2012
"New Works in Abstraction", Gallery 56, Memphis, 2009
"Passion to Paint", Artists on Central, Memphis, 2007
Selected Group Exhibitions:
"Group Show", M2 Gallery, Little Rock, 2015
"The Green Show", David Perry Smith Gallery, 2013
"Invitational Show", Gallery 56, Memphis, 2013
"Abstracts", David Perry Smith Gallery, Memphis, 2012
"Summariness' End", David Perry Smith Gallery, Memphis, 2011
"Southern Landmarks", D'Edge Gallery, Memphis, 2010
"Everything Under a Grand", Gallery 56, Memphis, 2009
"14 at Gallery 56", Gallery 56, Memphis, 2009
"Saturday Night Special", D'Edge Gallery, Memphis, 2008
"Deja New", Gallery 56, Memphis, 2008
"Wild About Art", Gallery 56, Memphis, 2007
Collections:
Evolve Bank
Trustmark Bank
Iberia Bank Memphis
Iberia Bank Little Rock
Baptist Memorial Hospital
Scan Source
Baptist Hospice
West Tenn. Delta Heritage Center