John Moran
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Costly ComradeProcesses : Hot Sculpted Glass
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Lest ForgottenProcesses : Hot Sculpted Glass
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FuzzyProcesses : Hot Sculpted Glass
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Gracious Processes : Hot Sculpted Glass
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John Moran
As a storyteller, my work is constructed from a series of anecdotes, references, and experiences. While I do draw ties to American pop culture, politics, and social issues, I do not do this arbitrarily. I attempt to illustrate how I see the barrage of consumerism, religion, and politics colliding with depictions of social injustice, secular beliefs, and popular culture. I myself am a product of all of these things; I am American and America was founded on dissent. To paraphrase Picasso: my work is a collection of lies, hopefully helping the viewer realize the truth. Though for me the truth is not absolute, it is simply how I see the world. It is not necessarily an attempt at subversion, but more an attempt to reconcile, and in a way celebrate, the absurdity and hypocrisy of society.
I strive to achieve this through chronic appropriation, not of imagery in the same sense as Richard Prince or Andy Warhol, but of ideas. I am not as interested in using the depictions of the Pieta or the Presidents, it is their auras I want to use, all of the baggage surrounding them, every preconceived notion and stereotype that already exists, and then I want to smash them together with conflicting or separate notions and stereotypes where I see similar attributes.
It may not seem autobiographical, but my experiences and observations are the genesis of my ideas. Each piece is a reaction to a specific event, but is not an illustration of it. I pull from everything around me. My own political and religious views, art, books, movies, family, and popular culture culminate into layers of seemingly random references, multiple components, and a visual overload that mimics our daily experience.
“Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth.” Attributed to Pablo Picasso
Permanent and Private Collections
Nevis Historical & Conservation Society
WheatonArts Museum of American Glass
Lommel Glazenhuis Museum
Sandra & Bernie Meyers
Daniel Gaumer
Donna Smallwood
Solo Exhibitions
2016
TBA. Augustinerkloster. Gent, Belgium.
2015
Youth_AnaSiA. S12 Gallery. Bergen, Norway.
2014
American Idols. Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts. Wilmington, Delaware
2013
I Came, I Saw, I Concurred. Geuzenhuis. Ghent, Belgium
Sorry for the Convenience. cometogetherspace Gallery. Bloomington, Illinois
back to school. MFA Thesis Exhibition. University Galleries. Normal, Illinois
2012
American Idols. Hodge Gallery. Pittsburgh Glass Center. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
2011
Displaced. Dylan Gallery. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (collaboration with Eoin Breadon
Group Exhibitions
2016
Ambrosiana. Saint Nicholas Church. Lochristi, Belgium.
Kunstenfestival Watou. TBA. Watou, Belgium.
44th Habatat Invitational. Habatat Galleries. Royal Oak, Michigan.
2015
OEMTA DELL’ ARTE. Our Lady Assumption Church. Ertvelde, Belgium.
Glass Through the Ages. Gent Glas. Gent, Belgium.
2014
Wrede/Vrede Kunst. Seven Oaks Church. Lochristi, Belgium.
DIAFAAN VI. Saint Elizabeth Church. Gent, Belgium.
2013
Stanislav Libensky Award Finalists. Royal Summer Palace. Prague, Czech Republic.
MFA Biennial. University Galleries. Normal, Illinois.
2012
ArtPrize. The B.O.B. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Glass at 50: A Tradition in Flux. University Galleries. Normal, Illinois. Curator: John Miller
2011
Glasinterland: België – Nederland. Het Glazen Huis Museum. Lommel, Belgium. Curator: Jeroen Maes
Odd Couples. Flame Run Gallery. Louisville, Kentucky.
Glass Carnival. Flame Run Gallery. Louisville, Kentucky.
2010
ISU Graduate Exhibition. Echt Gallery. Chicago. Illinois.
Who’s Who in Glass? Essex Art Center. Essex, Massachusetts.
2009
Sofa Chicago. Navy Pier. Chicago, Illinois. Represented by Thomas R. Riley Galleries
Lines into Shapes. Art Center of Estes Park. Estes Park, Colorado.
Impact. Wheaton Arts Gallery. Millville, New Jersey.
Look Forward. Traver Gallery Tacoma. Tacoma, Washington.
Guilty Pleasures. Projects Gallery. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2006
Insert Glass Here. Tyler School of Art. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
War !t. MBN Studios. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2004
CGP Award Recipient Show. Hot Soup Gallery. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
2003
Pilchuck Staff Show. Pilchuck Glass School. Stanwood, Washington
