JOHN SPROUL / Walking The Dark

February 8 – May 5, 2023

John Sproul creates work at the intersection between the subconscious and conscious state as he explores primal narratives and the paradox of being human. In his paintings, he places the figure as a central performer, a narrative guide moving through emotionally saturated tableaus of curiosity, vulnerability, and uncertainty. The large scale works absorb the audience into the scene and we become participants in the story.

Header image: I Got Old, John Sproul

While the paintings are deeply personal – they also address universal themes of fear, the need to be loved, body image, loneliness, and ego. The exhibition Walking The Dark embraces a nuanced emotional and socially engaged experience of the world, a perspective that stems from a desire to learn, understand, and ultimately evolve. Sproul’s creative practice is both therapeutic and exploratory. Sproul says, “My purpose is not to wallow, but to walk through these issues and discover what is beyond. To find healing and acceptance of myself and others as we are. To find the truth of us. I hope to find a little more light to see through the dark.”  

About the Artist

John Sproul (b. 1968, Los Angeles, CA) works with the figure to explore human identity and experience as a means of understanding of the world and himself. He has had over 20 solo exhibitions and participated in over 120 group exhibitions internationally including the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City; Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Salt Lake City; The Painting Center, New York; the Bipolar Projects, Barcelona; Galerie Metanoia, Paris; The Kunstwerk Carlshutte, Germany; and the Sienna Art Institute, Italy. He earned a BFA from the University of Utah in 1993. johnsproul.com