My subject is humanity. My theme is imperfection.
John Ross is a sculptor who works across disciplines and mediums — from his chainsaw figures and bronzes, to cast resin objects and massive plaster pieces. His work combines a surreal sense of scale, an uncanny eye for subverting expectations, and unconventional use of common materials.
John Ross’s path to becoming an artist was—and is—circuitous, detour-filled, and packed with wild entrepreneurial excursions. His art practice may have begun in the late 1970s when he cofounded two of Indiana’s best-known music venues, The Vogue and The Bluebird. It may have begun when he entered art school after cofounding a company specializing in the transportation of jet fuel . It may have begun when he first picked up a chainsaw and carved a log into a figure. It may have begun when he first moved into his Stutz Building studio two decades ago. However it began, he’s here, covered in sawdust, finding humanity in gnarled wood, baking 12-foot plaster birthday cakes for everyone, casting his brooms in resin and bronze , building robots and writing code.
John D. Ross
American, born 1946
Indianapolis, IN
Indiana State University, B.A. English, 1972
Herron School of Art, Indiana University, B.A. Sculpture, 1992
Select Exhibitions
SaatchiArt.com Featured Artist May 25, 2020
Indianapolis Museum of Art
Hoosier Salon
Indianapolis, IN.
Water Tower Museum
Louisville, KY.
South Bend Regional Museum
South Bend, IN.
Ft. Wayne Museum of Art
Ft. Wayne, IN.
Thunder Sky Gallery
Cincinnati. O.
Telene Edington Gallery
Indianapolis, IN.
Competitions
Mary Day Foundation Scholarship Award Herron School of Art 1992
Finalist,
Massachusetts Avenue Public Sculpture Competition Indianapolis 1995
Juror Merit Award
Safeco Arts Competition 2000 Safeco Insurance Company
Indianapolis
Safeco Insurance Arts Competition 2001 Indianapolis
Arts Council of Indianapolis High Art Billboard Project 2017
Public Art
“Walkin’ the Dog”
Washington Township Schools Foundation 2011 Indianapolis, IN.
High Art Billboard Project 2017-2018 Arts Council of Indianapolis
Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art “Environmental WOW Project” 2005 Indianapolis, IN
Contact
Stutz Building
Suite C 385
1060 N Capitol Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46204
john@johnrossart.com
317-445-9595