About the Artist


An Oil painting of John Markese done in Chicago, Illinois
Self-Portrait, Oil on Wood Panel

John Markese is a Chicago area artist that specializes in figurative art and portraiture in a variety of mediums, but most notably oil and acrylic paints and pastels. His style is spontaneous, filled with lively brushwork and agile mark making. The palette John uses punctuates these qualities in his marks and juxtaposes unusual hues to visually describe the human form in interesting ways. He mainly paints from live models and utilizes the time constraints of painting from life to emphasize the intensity of his style.

His acrylic and pastel paintings feature human figures whose bodies are boldly decorated with hot pink, bright red, emerald green, or light blue brush strokes that conflict with how the light is reflecting off the contours. John’s paintings incorporate inspiration from visceral interpretation of perceptions, and almost subconsciously utilize Gestalt principles to group individual marks and hues into a greater object. Stylistically, subjects are painted in a loose and spontaneous style that eschews blended gradients in favor of lively and expressive marks. Many of the paintings have wash backgrounds that create an undefined or even undulating sense of space. Some figures may have an aura that defines the figure from the ground, but often becomes an object unto itself.

John was born and raised in the Chicago area, and spent much of his youth in Palatine, Illinois where he still resides. He has been studying art since he was a young child and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois in 2001.


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    Artist Resume

    Education 2001 : University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign : Bachelor of Fine Arts Solo Exhibitions 2010 Jun : Face to Face : SmArt Gallery : Chicago, Illinois Group Exhibitions 2014 Jun : Northwest Pastel Society 28th Annual International Open Exhibit : Tacoma, Washington 2014 May : Great Lakes Pastel Society 2014 National Exhibit : Traverse City, Michigan 2014 Feb : Visual Arts Center National Art Exhibition 2014 : Punta Gorda, Florida 2014 Feb : The Connecticut Society of Portrait Artists Faces of Winter : Stamford, Connecticut 2014 Feb : The Pastel Society of Southeast Texas Art of the Pastel 2014 : Clute, Texas 2013 Nov : Chicago Pastel Painters’ 4th Biennial National Juried Exhibition : Highland Park, Illinois 2013 Nov : 32nd Pastel Society of the Southwest National Juried Show : Grapevine, Texas 2013 Oct : Starline Gallery Grand Finale Masquerade : Harvard, Illinois 2013 Nov : Chicago Pastel Painters’ 4th Biennial National Juried Exhibition : Highland Park, Illinois 2013 Nov : 32nd Pastel Society of the Southwest National Juried Show : Grapevine, Texas 2013 Oct : Starline Gallery Grand Finale Masquerade : Harvard, Illinois 2011 Sep : Coyote Arts Festival 2011 : Flat Iron Arts Building : Chicago, Illinois 2011 Jul : Gwanghwamun International Art Festival (GIAF) : Seoul, South Korea 2011 Feb : Now You See it, Now You Don’t : Flat Iron Arts Building : Chicago, Illinois 2010 Sep : Art in the Barn : Good Shepherd Hospital : Barrington, Illinois 2010 Sep : Beyond the Coyote : Flat Iron Arts Building : Chicago, Illinois 2010 May : Gilda’s Club Gala : Flat Iron Arts Building : Chicago, Illinois 2010 Apr : TheArtTrade : Ugly Stepsister Gallery : Chicago, Illinois 2010 Apr : Spring Show 2010 : Water Street Studios : Batavia, Illinois 2010 Mar : 4th Annual Emerging Artists : Morpho Gallery : Chicago, Illinois Awards 2014 : Bronze Medal : Great Lakes Pastel Society 2014 National Exhibit 2014 : Honorable Mention : The Pastel Society of Southeast Texas Art of the Pastel 2014 : Award of Excellence : Four Points Contemporary 2nd Bi-annual Competition 2013 : Portait/Figure Award : 32nd Pastel Society of the Southwest National Juried Show 2013 : Purchase Award : Chicago Pastel Painters’ 4th Biennial National Juried Exhibition 2013 : Honorable Mention : Starline Gallery Grand Finale Masquerade 1996 : University of Illinois Talent Scholarship Corporate Collections Advanced Group Company : Chicago, Illinois Associations Pastel Society of America Chicago Pastel Painters Oil Painters of America