jawood@alum.mit.edu
"The main elements of an art work are style and content. My paintings place an unusual emphasis on content, and on objectivity. I want them to say something; to make a statement; maybe to pose a question or contain a provocative ambiguity; to be interesting. Their settings run the gamut from city streets to obscure country locations. I like it when they contain people. My paintings are large enough to set the tone of a room. I want them to awaken the sounds, smells and textures of a particular volume of the world, and make the viewer feel its air and light. My earlier career as a scientist left its stamp on me in the form of the objectivity of my art."
Wood's interests as a child were art and science. He chose science for a career, limiting his art in those years to a few evening courses. Upon retirement (2004) he shifted his energies to "the road not taken," and has worked since to establish a professional position in art, specifically by painting large canvasses in the realist tradition. His contacts in the art world have come chiefly through the Cambridge Art Association and the Addison Art Gallery. He has sold or otherwise placed about half of the 71 paintings he has produced in his present incarnation, including several commissions. Two of his paintings hang at Harvard University.
Art enthusiasts, you might also want to check John's Wikipedia page, especially if you have any scientific leanings. Click here to learn about his career in space science, mainly studying meteorites, to better understand the origin of the solar system. Or, view John's science website, outlining his career and contributions to the field.
John A. Wood is featured in an insightful article by The Harvard Crimson. The piece highlights his transition from a successful career as a meteoriticist and planetary scientist to becoming a painter, showcasing his exhibit titled “Where, When, and Why” at the Gutman Library. Despite lacking formal training in the arts, Wood has created several realist paintings in the past decade, driven by personal inspiration rather than commercial appeal. His unique journey emphasizes that passion for art can emerge from non-traditional backgrounds at any stage of life.
For a deeper understanding of Wood’s artistic evolution, check out the full article on The Harvard Crimson.
Read ArticleBS and PhD degrees in science
Art training at:
Cambridge Art Association
Concord Art Association
Danforth Art
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Addison Art Gallery, Orleans (2008-10)
"All Things Warm and Sunny," Francesca Anderson Fine Art, Lexington (Mass.)
"Artists Choice," Cape Cod (Mass.) Art Association, Barnstable
"Feast," Gallery Seven, Maynard (Mass.)
"In Sight," Lunder Arts Center, Cambridge
"Celebrate," Belmont (Mass.) Gallery of Art
71st Members Prize Show, Cambridge (Mass.) Art Association
Guild of Boston Artists, Ann. Regional Juried Exhibit
Four juried "Healing with Art" exhibits at Norris Cotton Cancer Centers in Nashua, Lebanon, and Manchester N.H. hospitals
Platinum, Cambridge (Mass.) Art Association
70th Members Prize Show, Cambridge (Mass.) Art Association
"All New England Open Juried Exhibit," Cape Cod (Mass.) Art Association, Barnstable
"Animals," Belmont (Mass.) Gallery of Art
"Year of Discovery -- Science, Technology, and ART," Cary Memorial Library, Lexington Mass
"Community of Artists," Danforth Art, Framingham Mass
"Pretty Ugly," Cambridge (Mass.) Art Association
New England Regional Exhibit, Marblehead Arts Association
"The Muse of Poe," Artworks!, New Bedford Mass
"All Cape Cod," Cape Cod (Mass.) Art Association, Barnstable
"Recycle," Cambridge (Mass.) Art Association
"Faces," Bedford (Mass.) Public Library
"Red," Cambridge Art Association
"Breath of Spring," Cape Cod (Mass.) Art Association, Barnstable
"Scratching the Surface," Cambridge (Mass.) Art Association
Members Juried I, Concord (Mass.) Art Association
Members Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association
New England Invitational Show of the Rockport (Mass.) Art Association
Frances N. Roddy Open Competition, Concord Art Association
Northeast Prize Show, Cambridge Art Association
Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
“Darkness/Light,” Cambridge Art Association
“Food and Farming,” Nourish Restaurant, Lexington
Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
“Stratum,” Cambridge Art Association
“Blue,” Cambridge Art Association
Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
“Interiors and Exteriors,” Cambridge Art Association
“Red,” Cambridge Art Association
Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
“Paint the Town” Preview Show, Concord Art Association
“Spring,” Cambridge Art Association
“Cool,” Cambridge Art Association
Concord Art Association Members Juried I Show
“Blue,” Cambridge Art Association
Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
Cape Cod Art Association, Annual New England Exhibition
“Paint the Town” Preview Show, Concord Art Association
“The Way We Live,” Cambridge Art Association
“Simple Gifts,” Cambridge Art Association
Members Juried I, Concord Art Association
Cambridge Art Association Members Prize Show
"Where, When, and Why", Monroe C. Gutman Library, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass.; February 1 - 28, 2013
Mass. Audubon Habitat Center, Belmont Mass., May 2 - May 30, 2010
Monroe C. Gutman Library, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass.; July 2 - August 31, 2008
Brookhaven at Lexington, 1010 Waltham Street, Lexington, Mass.; April 1 - May 30, 2008
Holzman Alumni Center, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va.; August 20 - December 3 2007
Wainwright Bank & Trust Company, 1 Broadway, Kendall Square, Cambridge, and the Cambridge Art Association; April 3 - June 28 2007
"Echoes of Pop in the New Millenium", Cambridge Art Association Small Group Show, February 4 - March 1 2013
Exhibit with Kate Gardner and Susan Spellman, Gallery Seven, Maynard, Massachusetts, Aug. 21 - Oct. 2 2010
Exhibit with Sean Palfrey at Adams House, Harvard University, Oct. 25-Nov. 1 2009
Exhibit with Piero Buscaglia and Sarah Leon at Harvard Neighbors, Quincy House, Harvard University, Nov. 10-Dec. 12 2008