2021
While it’s neither completely outsider art nor folk art, the work of John Randall Nelson shares common ground with those styles, particularly in its rawness and nonconformity. He uses symbols and archetypes in his paintings and sculptures, having developed a distinct artistic vocabulary over the years that materializes in his work in text and graphic elements.
Nelson was born in Princeton, Illinois, but works out of Phoenix, Arizona. Early visits to the Art Institute of Chicago introduced Nelson to painters such as Jim Nutt, Roger Brown and Karl Wirsum. He decided to move to Arizona to study at Arizona State University where he earned his MFA in 1996.
Nelson’s subjects are as playful as they are peculiar — his textured paintings, which feature collages, layers of oil paint and an integration of text, feature everything from animals and flowers to imagined human-animal hybrids or everyday objects such as shoes and bicycles. Many paintings are populated with brightly colored polka dot patterns while his Pop art-inflected steel sculptures take on fantastical forms and draw on the Pattern and Decoration movement, which emerged in cities such as Los Angeles and New York during the early 1970s.
Nelson has exhibited all over the United States. His sculptures can be found at the Scottsdale Center for the Arts, the Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix and the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Nelson’s work is held in a number of private, public and corporate collections including Apple Inc., Phoenix Public Art and Design, the American Folk Art Museum and many other institutions.
On 1stDibs, find a collection of original John Randall Nelson paintings and other art.
Keep Trying To
By John Randall Nelson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
"Keep Trying To", diptych, mixed media on panel — 94 x 94 inches. John Randall Nelson is an Arizona-based painter and sculptor. Nelson’s works are layered with his own personal lan...
Mixed Media, Panel
Relatively Exotic
By John Randall Nelson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
John Randall Nelson’s paintings are layered with his own personal language consisting of patterns, symbols, and archetypes that may not make any literal sense but play on subconsciou...
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Panel
To Temper Bitterness
By John Randall Nelson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
John Randall Nelson’s paintings are layered with his own personal language consisting of patterns, symbols, and archetypes that may not make any literal sense but play on subconscious associations. His paintings are thick with paint, poured pigment and saturated washes with layers of drawing and collage. While Nelson's work is akin to outsider, folk art, it should be noted that he received his MFA from Arizona State University in 1995 and has completed commissions for clients as diverse as the National Endowment for the Arts, the United States Postal Service...
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Panel
I Dream Of You
By John Randall Nelson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
John Randall Nelson’s paintings are layered with his own personal language consisting of patterns, symbols, and archetypes that may not make any literal sense but play on subconsciou...
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Panel
For All The Graces
By John Randall Nelson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
John Randall Nelson’s paintings are layered with his own personal language consisting of patterns, symbols, and archetypes that may not make any literal sense but play on subconsciou...
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Panel
Tired of Elegance
By John Randall Nelson
Located in Los Angeles, CA
John Randall Nelson’s paintings are layered with his own personal language consisting of patterns, symbols, and archetypes that may not make any literal sense but play on subconsciou...
Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Panel
So We Don't Forget
By Rebecca Johnson
Located in Jersey City, NJ
Earth tones, totem with female figures, dog, florals; lime wash, acrylic ink, flashe and pastel painting on canvas; custom wood float frame; folk art inspired Hand signed by the art...
Canvas, Wood, Pastel, Acrylic
Understanding Acrylic Painting on Canvas: Contemporary Art, 2010+
Located in London, GB
Kingsley Obasi 1983 - Current Understanding, 2020 Acrylic on canvas 152.4 x 165.1 cm 60 x 65 in
Canvas, Acrylic
The New Challenger For American Good Looks
By John Joseph Hanright
Located in New York, NY
Pop Art. Americana. Homage to James Dean. Ephemera, Oil, Acrylic, Resin on Panel. About the Artist: John Joseph Hanright is a contemporary painter and assemblage artist who bri...
Resin, Oil, Acrylic, Wood Panel
I can not forget you Mohammad Ariyaei 21st Century art Contemporary outsider art
By Mohammad Ariyaei
Located in Paris, FR
Acrylic paint on paper Hand-signed lower right « Here the barbaric or savage ceremonies of New Guinea take on the air of Rio carnival. Here the vitality bu...
Paper, Acrylic
Private Showing, Pop Art Acrylic Painting by Michael Knigin
By Michael Knigin
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Michael Knigin, American (1942 - 2011) Title: Private Showing Year: 1990 Medium: Acrylic and Enamel on Canvas on board, signed, titled and dated verso Size: 24 x 52 inches
Enamel
French Contemporary Art by KEJ - Face
By Kej
Located in Paris, IDF
KEJ is a French artist born in 1959 who lives & works in Paris, France. He is considered to belong to the movement of Figuration Libre & Outsider Art. His works are referenced in the...
Canvas, Oil, Acrylic
