About John Gummere
I work in a representational manner, and use subjects as starting points to explore light, color, composition and different ways of using paint. At the most basic level, I simply paint because I love to paint.
I have always lived in and around cities and have often gravitated toward subjects involving the built environ- ment — such as city scenes and interior compositions. When I approach architectural subjects in a painting I rarely focus much on the architecture itself; I have always believed that very ordinary buildings can become great subjects for a painting. I don’t think of a painting as a “rendering” except insofar as I want the space to make sense. Mostly I think about taking the geometric shapes of buildings, streets, and other elements in a space, and treating them as a composition. I get a kick out of the happy accidents that I come across in devel- oping a painting — when shapes seem to “rhyme” or more interestingly, “half-rhyme.” In recent years I have also worked more with non-urban landscapes, as well as more personal paintings with human or animal subjects. With these, I’m often reflecting on the mood at a moment in time, and what stories the subjects in the painting might tell.
A quote I wish I had said:
“Why talk when you can paint?” — Milton Avery
Artist website: www.be.net/JohnGummere
New Brunswick Art Salon 2022 —Oil and Mixed Media: “Beyond the Brush: The Contemporary Imagination”
Education
- Four-Year Certificate Program in Painting, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia.
- Awarded the Frances D. Bergman Prize for Painting. September 1992 – May 1996
- B.A. in Architecture, Columbia University, New York. Honors: Dean’s List. Extracurriculars included work as Art Editor for Columbia Jester Magazine, and Graphic Artist for CTV, the University’s cable station. September 1973 – May 1977
- Painting, Drawing and Graphics, Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts); Tyler School of Art; Graphic Arts Association of the Delaware Valley; Fleisher Memorial School of Art; Rare Book School at the University of Virginia; and Mercer County Community College, Trenton, NJ. June 1976 – July 2003
Exhibitions
- Euphemia Gallery, Hightstown/Spring Lake, NJ, 2011 – present
- Marblehead Arts Alliance, Marbelhead, MA, 2022
- D’Art Centre, Norfolk, VA, 2022
- Northwest Arts Center, Minot State University, Minot, ND, 2021 (Merit Award)
- Studio Montclair, ViewPoints2021, Montclair, NJ, 2021
- Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA, 2021
- Abington Art Center, Jenkintown, PA, 2020
- Trenton City Museum/Sales Gallery, 2016 – present
- One for All Artists, Philadelphia, 2020
- Delaware County Community College, Delaware County, PA – online, www.dccc.edu/art-gallery, 2021
- Las Laguna Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA – online, www.laslagunagallery.com/light, 2020
- Arts & Cultural Council of Bucks County – online, www.bucksarts.org/onlineshow, 2020
- The Art of the River Towns – online, www.rivertownsmagazine.com , 2020
Solo Exhibitions:
- Trenton Social, 2018
- Jeri’s Curio, Philadelphia, 2015
- Gallery 788, Baltimore, 2011
- Annex 24 Gallery, Lancaster, PA, 2011
- St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, 1984 Taurus Gallery, New Hope, PA, 1980
- Trenton City Museum, 1980
- Mercer County College, West Windsor, NJ, 1980
Other/Group Exhibitions:
- 1719 William Trent House Museum, Trenton, 2019
- Ellarslie Open/Trenton City Museum, 1997 (Best in Show), 2016, 2017, 2018 Plastic Club, Philadelphia, 2012 (Third Prize, Landscape Exhibit)
- Silverpoint Gallery, Huntington, NY, 2012
- Noyes Museum/Seashore Gardens, Galloway, NJ, 2012 (Second Prize)
- Gallery 125, Trenton, 2010
- Woodmere Museum, Chestnut Hill, PA – PAFA Fellowship Show, 1997
- Haverford School, Haverford, PA, 1996
- Kaiserman Jewish Community Center, Wynnewood, PA, 1996
- Museum of American Art at PAFA, 1995, 1996 (Annual Student Exhibition)
- Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, 1983 (Best in Show)
- New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, 1981