John W. Carlson: A Retrospective, at HEDGE

John W. Carlson, Cinderella Sleeping It Off, oil and charcoal on canvas, 46 x 42 inches, 2017

A long-awaited memorial exhibition for Cleveland artist John W. Carlson opens this September at HEDGE Gallery and ARTneo Museum featuring paintings, prints, and drawings created during his extensive artistic career in Northeast Ohio.

John passed suddenly in December 2020, leaving behind a remarkable collection of his artwork, some very recently completed and never seen in public. At the pinnacle of his career, he saw his most well-received solo exhibition, BLUES, at HEDGE Gallery in February 2020. This memorable, nearly sold-out show claims the largest attendance numbers ever at the gallery for the opening reception and artist talk.

Carlson’s paintings had begun to garner national recognition after exhibitions at Field Projects in New York in 2019, with work purchased for collections at Erie Art Museum in Pennsylvania and Massillon Museum in Ohio. Carlson had been accepted into numerous juried shows, including the prestigious Butler Midyear Show, and was juried into The Ohio Arts Council Riffe Gallery First Juried Show in Columbus, along with Zanesville Museum in 2019 and 2020.

Always artistically gifted, John began his career by attending Cleveland’s Cooper School of Art. He found a balance between expressive drawings and boldly executed paintings, combining oils, charcoal, and graphite. The human figure permeated most of Carlson’s work, exploring themes such as family, gender, and relationships. He often sketched from life, capturing the form with energetic lines. His sketches were translated into his distinguished painting style, illustrating passionate emotions through thick, layered brushwork and vigorous mark making.

John W. Carlson, Roll Jorday Roll, from the Blues series. Courtesy of HEDGE Gallery.

John Carlson collaborated with his partner, artist Shari Wilkins, on the project titled American Emotionalism, foundedin 2015.A manifesto of artistic intention was created for this movement, revealing ways that Carlson and Wilkins challenged themselves in their work. Spanning a wide variety of mediums—from photography and music to painting and collage—American Emotionalism was a reaction against the over-explanation of visceral work.

Carlson and Wilkins’ intention was to create work that elicits emotions arising from intuitive feelings, leaving space for viewers’ interpretation with little to no explicit explanation.

This retrospective will highlight Carlson’s most important works dating from 1990 to 2020, including early landscape paintings, his black and white figure series, his Woman and Blues series and drawings and prints. On view in both HEDGE Gallery and ARTneo Museum from September 14 through November 4.

JOHN W. CARLSON: A RETROSPECTIVE | SEPTEMBER 14–NOVEMBER 4
On view in HEDGE Gallery and ARTneo Museum.
PREVIEW RECEPTION 5:30-7:30PM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
OPENING RECEPTION 5-8PM FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16

JESSICA PINSKY, SOLO EXHIBITION | NOVEMBER 16–DECEMBER 30

HEDGE GALLERY
1300 West 78th Street, Suite 200
Cleveland, Ohio 44102
hedgeartgallery.com
Facebook: HEDGE Gallery
216.650.4201

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