Bio

John Clinton is a multi-media sculptor. Although largely self-taught he did receive formal training in bronze sculpting at Central Tech in the Art program in Toronto. While he works across a wide range of mediums, in recent years he has focused his practice in bronze and reclaimed wood. His work is heavily influenced by the west coast environment where his studio is located. This can be seen in his work on both a thematic level and a stylistic level. His work, whether it be representational or abstract, focuses greatly on both texture and line. He believes each piece should tell a unique story and texture and line are central in the telling of that story. While much of his work features people wether on a representational, stylized or abstract level, he has branched out to embrace work that could be best described as environmental on a purely abstract level.

John has been an exhibiting artist since 1985. At his core John has always been a storyteller. In his day career he was a leader in the communications industry working in advertising, publishing and public relations where he was head of creative and content for North America for the world’s largest PR firm.

Always a sculptor, Clinton began his art practice as a wood carver. After graduating from Queens University, to make ends meet, he found himself carving reliefs of some of the finest homes in Toronto and Vancouver. Houses lead to people. One of his first commissions was of Devon White for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Woodcarving led to papier mâché because of its portability. This was an important move for Clinton as it really shaped and informed his use of colour in his work. Largely figurative, papier mâché freed him to do more vibrant, larger works that started to command a room.

Papier mâché led to bronze. As noted earlier, Clinton attended bronze art classes at Central Tech for many years where he learned his figurative sculpting skills, he also learned the art of lost wax casting. This led to a whole new world where he could combine what he had learned working with wood, apply the colour and texture theory he had learned with papier mâché and bring it all together into his bronze studies.

While there has been a heavy concentration in figurative work over the years which continues to this day, Clinton’s exploration into the abstract world recently has been an eye-opening addition to his practice. He has been able to combine his love repurposing with his distaste for waste in his new ‘Found Objects’ series. Using found discarded objects as a starting point he has explored an abstract world of texture, colour and line in both interior and exterior pieces. Whether it be styrofoam pulled from the ocean or plywood pulled from job site waste bins he has created provocative captivating art from other peoples’ trash.

Clinton is currently on the board of Artscape in Toronto and was past board VP of the Powerplant Contemporary Art Gallery. In addition, he designed and produced awards for the Canadian Diabetes Association and Arterra Wines.

He has exhibited in galleries and art fairs in Canada and the US and his work can be found in private collections in Canada, US and Europe.