Spotlight Artist

John Hartley

West
Artist profile photo
Featured in New American Paintings

Artist Statement

I believe that art is both a reflection of culture and an expression of the creator. I strive for both, inviting the viewer to find their own meaning through fragments of history, the nightly news, cultural observations, memories, and personal experience.

I look for subjects that connect and juxtapose childhood with adulthood, and I find beauty and meaning in scratched, dented, and imperfect objects. Toys in particular evoke childhood memories, but I also find political and social commentary in playthings and old figures.

My paintings represent for me memories of an imaginative childhood and the adult realities of violence, war, injustice, and intolerance. They make both literal and visual reference to who I am and where I come from.

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