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Artist John Dewey



John Dewey is a painter (b. Denver, Colorado 1987) lives and works in Los Angeles, California. John graduated Art Center College of Design in 2012 with a BFA in Fine Art and continued his studio practice while working in fabrication and education. In 2023 he was accepted as an MFA candidate at Claremont Graduate University and received a degree in 2025. His work focuses on environmental issues that affect the western United States.





"I am a narrative landscape painter exploring the intersection of history, politics, and place. My work engages with large-scale societal issues such as climate change, colonialism, and the rise of authoritarianism, using specific locations as focal points for broader narratives. Rooted in the tradition of landscape painting, my practice examines both the history of the landscapes I depict and their potential futures. Literature plays a significant role in my process. When developing a body of work, I immerse myself in both fiction and nonfiction related to the subject, incorporating a strong research component into my practice. I enjoy drilling down into a topic, surrounding myself with information, and allowing research to help shape the direction the paintings develop. Shifting in scale and perspective. The work presents multiple narratives: figures blur and snap into focus, while elements disrupt their own internal logic—some rendered in perspective, others flattening the space around them. The images come in and out of clarity, with some areas sharply defined and others mere shadows. This interplay creates focal points and moments of certainty, guiding the viewer’s movement through the composition. A topographic quality emerges—certain areas peel back to reveal base layers, exposing the depth and physicality of the painting process itself. At their core, these paintings investigate the tension between ambition and collapse, expansion and limitation. They reflect on California as both a promise and a warning, a landscape shaped by grand visions and their unintended consequences, where the impulse to conquer the environment has sown the seeds of its own undoing."





Tell us a little about yourself (where you are from) and your background in the arts.

I am a Los Angeles based painter I originally graduated all the way back in 2012 with a BFA from Art Center College of Design. I then spent around a decade working in various fields while making work out of my apartment before finally going back for my MFA in 2023. Having recently graduated I rented a space with another member of my cohort which we use as our studios but also host Material Projects an artist run gallery that features emerging artists.


What kind of work are you currently making?

Narrative landscape paintings


What is a day like in the studio for you?

I'm a daytime worker so I arrive at the studio at around 9 am. My routine to get warmed up involves cleaning my pallet and organizing my materials and space. Then I will look at what I'm working on and start mixing colors. I find I'm most focused in the mornings so I will try to work on more difficult and finicky work first and then as the day goes on I will move to less involved projects like prepping new canvases or working on under paintings. I like to work on multiple paintings at the same time so if I hit a wall on one or feel like I am overworking it then I will switch to another. For lunch options there is a taco stand right downstairs from my studio and I can smell the grilled onions coming in through the window, so if I have cash I'll get that or if I want to be healthy I'll bring a bagged lunch.


What are you looking at right now and/or reading?

I listen to audiobooks while I work so I go through a lot of books. Currently I am listening to a lot of soviet literature, which is just a random tangent but usually I try to find audiobooks that relate to the paintings I'm working on so for example recently I did a series about water infrastructure and environmental issues in California so while I was working on that project I listened to a combination of fiction and nonfiction about the subject. As far as visual influences as always the legendary Agnes Pelton is a huge influence as is Alice Neel and Charles Burchfield. I try to go out to galleries every weekend as well to see contemporary work.


Where can we find more of your work? (ex. website/insta/gallery/upcoming shows)












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