About - John Edward Gregory

John Edward Gregory

Biography

Scottsdale, Arizona. To most people this city conjures up images of luxury, money and the perfect place to retire to a good golf game. I was born here in 1969 and raised here, surrounded not by wealth, but by a strong hardworking family in a blue-collar neighborhood. Many of my images and aesthetic sensibilities stem from the well-manicured suburban lawns in contrast to my father’s constantly growing junkyard of cars in the family’s backyard.

I developed my interest in art from a beginning drawing course I took as a prerequisite to a jewelry-making course during my first year in college. I found that art gave me confidence in my ability to learn and be creative and the self-awareness that I could accomplish anything that I truly desired. Like many other artists, pursuing an art degree was not highly encouraged by friends or family. After pursuing other more potentially marketable educational tracks, I returned to art as my primary focus. When I tried to imagine what I would do for the rest of my life, confident that I had given the world the best I had, it was only as an artist. After receiving my BFA in Jewelry and Metalworking and a BA in Studio Art from Arizona State University, I enrolled in Pratt Institute to obtain an MFA in painting and drawing.

Attending Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York proved to be a valuable asset to me both professionally and personally. The aesthetics of an urban environment lent itself nicely to the imagery of my work. Additionally, the neighborhood in Brooklyn opened my senses to new social and visual environs that contrasted sharply to the Scottsdale suburban neighborhoods in which I was raised. This contrast served to help reinforce my exploration of what is “authentically” socially acceptable or unacceptable.

____________________ EDUCATION AND TRAINING _____________________

Master of Fine Arts (MFA) 2000 – PRATT INSTITUTE – Brooklyn, New York

Area of Concentration: Painting and Drawing

Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) 1997 – ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY – Tempe, Arizona; Major: Metals Magna Cum Laude

Bachelor of Arts (BA) 1997 – ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY – Tempe, Arizona Major: Studio Art Magna Cum Laude

Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) 1992 -UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA – Tucson, Arizona Major: Management Information Systems

____________________ PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS____________________

Member of Society of North American Goldsmiths (SNAG)
Member of Jewelry Design Professionals Network (JDPN)
Member of Manufacturing Jewelers and Suppliers of America (MJSA)

______________________ SELECTED EXHIBITIONS ______________________

REDstock, Butterfly Fine Arts, Red Bank, New Jersey (October – November 2010)
Art Institute and Gallery, 18^th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Salisbury, Maryland (September –October 2009)
Seeing in Color, Victory Arts Project, Jersey City, NJ (July – August 2009)
PINNACLE National Juried Art Exhibition, Foster Tanner Fine Arts Gallery, Tallahassee, FL (June 2009)
24^th Anniversary Benefit: Annual Fine Art Auction, Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa, Florida (November 15, 2008)
COEXISTENCE 23^rd Anniversary Group Exhibition, Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa, Florida (December 1, 2007 – February 9, 2008)
22^nd Anniversary Group Exhibition: Abstract Generations, Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa, Florida (November 2006 – January 2007)
Twenty-one works on paper; Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa, Florida (November 2005 – January 2006)
Solo Exhibition – John Gregory: works on paper: Pastels and Watercolors, Brad Cooper Gallery, Tampa, Florida (July-August 2005)
7th Annual Georgetown International Art Competition, Juror: Kristen Hileman, Asst. Curator for Contemporary Art, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gardens The Fraser Gallery, Washington D.C. (July-August 2004)
2004 Biennial Juried Exhibition Brad Cooper Gallery, “Best in Show”, Juror: James McGarrell Tampa, Florida (July-September 2004)
1^st Annual International Juried Exhibition, part of the Crossing Borders series of events at SUNY Potsdam “Best in Show”, Jurors: Jack Beale and Sandra Freckleton Potsdam, NY (March –April 2004)