John Axton Oil Painting on Canvas, Abstract

Artist: John Axton
Title: Emerald Wave
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 24" x 48"


John Axton has been with Ventana Fine Art Gallery since we opened fifteen years ago. During this period, his simple, dramatic, often haunting imagery has created a large following. His minimal horizons, even a single marble - draw the viewer into the canvas to peacefully contemplate the fusion of reality and imagination. John was awarded a "Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award" by his alma mater, Southern Illinois University in 1988 when they established a summer arts program in his name.

His inclusion in "Covering the West", the prestigious traveling exhibition curated by the editors of Southwest Art Magazine in 1996, introduced John's art to visitors of the Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM, the Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, OK , the Autry Museum of Western Heritage, Los Angeles, CA and the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, CO.

John has exhibited in several group museum shows including the Albright-Knox Museum in Buffalo, New York, the Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, the McNay Museum, San Antonio, TX, and the Philadelphia Museum, Philadelphia, PA. His work is in the permanent collections of the Pratt Museum in New York and The Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe, NM.

Education: Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL

Professional Data

1983 Pratt Museum, New York, NY - Las Trampas, lithograph, permanent collection
1984 Museum of Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, oil on canvas, permanent collection
1984 McNay Museum, San Antonio TX - Group Show
1984-85 Collective Artists Traveling exhibit, "Art and the Law", St. Paul, MN
1985 Chosen as poster artist for Denver Center for the Performing Arts
1986 Cover Illustration for the album of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra "Symphony No. 9 from the New World" by Dvorak
1986 Denver Art Museum Group Show - Breckenridge Gallery, Breckenridge, CO
1986 Chosen as poster artist for Denver Center for the Performing Arts
1988 Awarded the outstanding Alumni Achievement Award by the Southern Illinois University College of Technical Careers, Carbondale, IL
1989 Southern Illinois University Press published book titled Axton
1989 Southern Illinois University "John Axton Institute", Held in Carbondale, IL
1991 Collection of 20 Works donated to permanent collection of Siu
1994 The Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo, NY Group Exhibit
1994 Philadelphia Museum Group Exhibit
1994 Phoenix Art Museum - original drawing donated for auction
1995-96 Covering the West, The Best of SW Art, Traveling Exhibition
2000-2004 The other side of The West, Traveling Exhibition, Desert Caballeros, Western Museum, Wickenburg, AZ, Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix AZ, The Phipen Museum, Prescott, AZ, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, Colorado Springs, CO, Grace Museum, Abilene TX, MSC Forsyth Center Galleries, College Station, TX, Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock TX

One Man Shows 1977-79 1981, 83' 87' Breckenridge Galleries, Breckenridge, CO 1983 - 84 Contemporary Gallery, Dallas, TX 1980-85 Enthios Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 1985 Palm Springs, CA 1987-94 J. Cacciola Galleries, New York, NY 1984 Jamie Szoke Gallery, New York, NY 1981, 84' 86' 88' 90' Kauffman Galleries, Houston TX 1997 Marco Fine Art, Beverly Hills, CA 1988 Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 1994 Summa Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 1999-2000 Third Canyon Gallery, Denver CO 1982 Valhalla Gallery, Wichita, KS 1986-2001 Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM