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John Beerman

John Beerman’s paintings capture the spiritual tranquility of a range of locales – from his native North Carolina, to the Hudson River, to the southwestern United States, to Tuscany.  The limited palettes, sketch-like quality, and plein air genesis of his work echo the lessons of Impressionism; but his eye for compositional structure and the revisions he makes in the studio imbue his paintings with a sense of quiet monumentality.  Above all, Beerman continues, in modern form, the traditions of the American Luminists, who explored nature’s mysteries by rendering its light and color in spatially expansive landscapes.

In a New York Times article published August 24, 2008, Beerman was quoted as seeing himself in the tradition of the Luminist offshoots of the Hudson River School. "They had a lot of sky, and subdued brushwork, so that the hand of the particular artist wasn’t so obvious," said Beerman. "They had a quietude," he added. "Not so much drama."

Beerman’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. John received his degree from Rhode Island School of Design, and he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. His 35-year career has garnered recognition at the highest levels of fine art. He has received several awards and fellowships including the Pollack-Krasner Foundation Award and the Yaddo Artist Colony Fellowship. His work is in the collection of numerous museums across the country, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and in the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh. Among other public collections, his work is at the Duke University Cancer Center, the Duke Endowment and the North Carolina Governor’s mansion. He also has completed several public commissioned works including an 85-foot mural for the Milstein Family Heart Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and recently a painting for the UNC-REX Hospital in Raleigh.