"The landscape and silence inhabit the works of John Cormier in a fusion of colors that returns expressive power to places, enhances them and enhances their evocative power. There is no room for the human figure, only the landscape and its eloquent representation. The color is pure and nuanced, so as to leave the observer with a sense of restless disorientation."

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Elena Gradini, art critic "Percorsi Visivi" September 2023, Angelica Gallery, Rome Italy

 

 

MY ART

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Space, time, and atmosphere are the central themes of my work. The places we inhabit—the landscapes, streets, and environments that surround us—invite the artist within me to uncover and tell their stories.

In my paintings, moments are suspended in time, only to be relived and experienced anew. Each work is an invitation for the viewer to pause, enter, and engage with the dimensions where our lives unfold. Through color, light, and form, familiar places reveal their hidden narratives and emotional resonance.

Beauty exists all around us. Art has the power to bring that beauty into focus, allowing us to see the extraordinary within the ordinary and to appreciate the world with renewed awareness.

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ABOUT ME

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I was born in Connecticut, in a region nestled between the shoreline and the rolling hills of New England, between the energy of New York City and the vibrant colors of autumn landscapes. From an early age, I was captivated by contrasts—the soaring skyscrapers of New York and the Victorian homes scattered throughout the New England countryside.

After graduating from Pratt Institute, my professional journey led me through a diverse range of creative experiences. I worked on commercial projects in New York and residential design in Connecticut, studied in Rome, and designed the bandstand gazebo on Stratford Green. Today, I live in Rome, Italy, where I have spent nearly half my life immersed in an environment of extraordinary history, architecture, and beauty.

Although I have always been an artist, I learned to paint out of a desire to share the beauty I see in the world around me. I learned to truly see through the teachings of the many artists, architects, and mentors who shaped my education, most notably the Florentine futurist architect Vittorio Giorgini.

Painting with oils is far more than the application of pigment to canvas. Every brushstroke, every choice of color, every subtle shift in tone is like the careful selection of words in a compelling story—one that transports the viewer to another place and time. A painting is much more than an image; it can be emotional, spatial, atmospheric, and provocative all at once. It breathes. It lives. That is what I strive to achieve in my work.

I paint to reveal the overlooked and unnoticed—the spaces between things, the play of light, the richness of color, and the atmosphere that surrounds us. Oil paint, with its depth and expressive range, allows these qualities to emerge fully.

My paintings are not windows into my soul. Rather, they are invitations for viewers to discover their own—moments of reflection where memory, emotion, and imagination meet.

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