Meet John Rose | Artist, Sculptor and Painter

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Making the decision to become an artist and then making art every day that is first… I grew up on a council housing estate in Northern England in the 50’s and 60’s and going to art school was a huge risk coming from my background. But then I started taking more risks, first hitch hiking through Europe and realizing there was so much more out there. Worked as a lecturer in several art colleges in England, moving from city to city always trying to find the next best gig. Applied for and got a lecturing position at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and left England in a cloud of dust…. big risk…..10,000 miles away had to be there for minimum of 2 years. Another huge risk am I going to be any good, will I like this new land, do I have to speak Chinese… so glad I made this move, took a while to settle in, but eventually it was amazing.
Spent 8 years there, in between working with students, I got to travel more to all parts of SE Asia, learned to Scuba Dive, something I’d always wanted to do since being a kid and watching Seahunt on tv. I loved diving so much, its a huge risk entering an alien world and spending time with its occupants, I became an instructor, and was offered a position to become a dive master
on an island in the Maldives. But I met my wife to be instead and took the biggest risk of all and moved to the US, became an artist and work every day in my studio, that was 40 years ago.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m primarily known for my wood sculpture, the three dimensional pieces I fabricate are very whimsical, muscular and tactile, wall mounted, freestanding and suspended. I have produced a lot of commissions, I like doing them because they are real, somebody has seen my work, likes it, wants to have a piece and you work with the client. In recent years my suspended works have been the most wanted, a couple of examples are, The UC Children’s Hospital on Sunset at Vermont have an eight looping spirals piece over the entrance foyer, each piece is 17 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet deep. At the Morgan Stanley HQ in Times Square, a vertical 25 foot spiral of graphic forms in the staircase connecting the 26th to 25th floors.
Overnight success came in the 40 years of ups and downs of working in this country, nothing is easy, wouldn’t be worth anything if it was. Some you win some you don’t. I started out a painter, my surfaces grew three dimensionally over several years and eventually morphed into sculpture and now again I am producing paintings. Just keep doing it is the key, don’t question yourself too much,
Don’t over intellectualize your self, I’ve always felt that life is really just a series of stepping stones, just keep making it up to the next one, and add in a good dose of luck as well. I’ve learned so many lessons along this journey, too many to recount really, but the most important thing is to believe in your gut, belief in self is paramount, but always have a trusted friend, other than your wife, to bounce things off and get the real deal. They won’t do you no wrong. Oh and travel, far and wide, never stop.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
First to my house to decompress, enjoy a cocktail or two to get into the Venice vibe. Show them my studio and chat about the work. Not too much, don’t overdo it. I can cook, so cook a really good and simple meal the first night here, maybe pasta with a great marinara sauce and chill with a nice bottle of wine. I tend not to go out so much because I cook dinner in the evening when my wife returns home from work. My studio is here at the house so I’m kind of here all day. When we go out, its usually to places we’ve been going to for years, Versailles is fabulous simple Cuban food, Eduardos for the best taco’s, Kyonos for the best sushi, Local Kitchen for fabulous American food, In and Out for the best fast hamburgers.
Some of the most fun people I know like to hang out at their own places, so to go their house is a treat, and a dinner party at our house usually has a bunch of characters. Having a trek around the galleries, maybe a museum show if there is something interesting. A walk on the beach and suck in some good ocean air.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Mrs Rose, wouldn’t be here without her, then there comes all the gallerists and clients who have guided me and those who have bought my work over the years.

Website: www.johnrosestudio.com

Instagram: @johnrosestudio

Facebook: @johnrosestudio