Background
John McAllister was born in 1973 in Slidell, Louisiana, United States.
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States
The University of Texas at Austin where John McAllister received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1999.
1700 Lida St, Pasadena, CA 91103, United States
Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California where John McAllister obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2007.
John McAllister’s ‘Seas Softly Darkening Darkening’ purchased for $13,750 at Phillips New York in 2015.
John McAllister’s ‘Seas Softly Darkening Darkening’ purchased for $13,750 at Phillips New York in 2015.
University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, United States
The University of Texas at Austin where John McAllister received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1999.
1700 Lida St, Pasadena, CA 91103, United States
Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California where John McAllister obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2007.
John McAllister photographed by Christopher Churchill.
John McAllister was born in 1973 in Slidell, Louisiana, United States.
John McAllister received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999.
Then, he studied photojournalism at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California under an artist Mike Kelly. Sterling Ruby and Aaron Curry were among his fellows.
McAllister graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in 2007.
John McAllister’s path to the art scene started at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City where he served as a nightguard from 2000 to 2004. He found inspiration for his future canvases contemplating the masterpieces of great masters.
He first painted large wildfires but soon turned to smaller forms, including landscapes and interiors after he realized that such kind of works was more requested by art dealers and collectors. The encounter with James Fuentes who had opened an eponymous gallery in New York City was a turning point in McAllister’s career as an artist. In 2008, Fuentes’s gallery became the first representative of his art in the city. Several sold-out shows raised the interest of the media to McAllister’s art and somehow boosted his career.
The propositions from other galleries to acquire his works followed, including the Richard Telles Gallery in Los Angeles, the Carl Freedman Gallery in London, and the Shane Campbell Gallery in Chicago where he had solo exhibitions in 2013. Within three years, John McAllister has shown in more solo exhibitions in the mentioned cities adding Tokyo, Brussels, and Berlin to the list.
Nowadays, John McAllister lives and works in Florence, Massachusetts. His art is represented by Almine Rech Gallery in Paris, Brussels, London, and New York City, by Carl Freedman Gallery in London, by James Fuentes in New York City, and by Wentrup Gallery in Berlin.
John McAllister is an accomplished artist who managed to achieve recognition without traditional support from the community of curators and foundations.
His works are acquired by the Rubell Family Collection, Miami, Florida and Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, California, and are the part of private collections of German princess Gloria von Thurn und Taxis, Puerto Rican art patron César Reyes, and fashion maven from Canada Joe Mimran.
In 2015, McAllister’s ‘Seas Softly Darkening Darkening’ was purchased for $13,750 at Phillips New York.
Beaming Junebright Beacon
Wilds Gleaming Dreamy
Sugared Rapture Rapt
Aglow Hushed Nightsound Seeking
Haunt Harbors Dazzledaze
Jaunts Asea Shimmery
Plumb Asunder Bawl Ball
Glistening Afternight Inky
Flame Trembles Dreamy
Cinder Bright Beckoning
Wading Awake Once Darksome Takes
Bright Crowned Summers Asunder
Silent Sounds Surrounds
Sumptuous Sun Thesis
Alignments Astral Often
Cymbals Without Sound
Edinic Sometimes Idyll
Agleam Glimmery
Were Moonlit Mingling
Celestial Sometimes
Quotations: "Instead of making pretty pictures about something serious, I realized I could be serious about making pretty pictures."
