John Beardman (American, b. 1937)
“I want my audience to be immediately struck by the force of an image, yet to slowly
work to digest it”
Beardman is an American Abstract Expressionist painter. He spent decades painting on an island in Nova Scotia, a place filled with a rich natural beauty that inspired him enough so that he often took his oversized paintings outside to work. It’s understandable that he gets lost in his paintings and that “time stands still” for him. His imagery is loosely based on elements he (or we) might see everyday. A ripple in the water or leaves on the ground can bring new thoughts and forms to his work. He now works full time in his New York City loft.
Beardman graduated from Oberlin College. He also attended the Sorbonne and Stanley Hayter's "Atelier 17" in Paris. He holds two advanced degrees from Southern Illinois University. He has been an art professor at the University of Connecticut, Cranbrook Academy of Art, and Oakland University
In 1990 he decided to focus on his work and stopped teaching to become a full time artist.
He has works in both public and private collections including HDH Corp, John Hart, NBC, Best Products, Harry Bober, Allan Stone, Florence Barron, Cornel West, Cranbrook Academy of Art and the Detroit Institute of Arts. In addition he has received numerous creative artist's grants and fellowships.