John Legaspi
United States
Artist Bio
Born in a turbulent Manila, Philippines in 1974, Mr. Legaspi’s family emigrated to New York later that year. Growing up in New York had a profound effect on the artist including being exposed to diverse cultures nestled in a multitude of issues inherent to the ever-changing urban landscape. Being an artist of color plays an important factor to many themes present in his work. His Asian/Pacific Islander heritage often clash with more Western modes of normality.
He attended St. John’s University where he discovered his affinity for art. This was his first formal artistic training culminating in a Bachelor Degree in Fine Arts. After working as an illustrator for a few years, he then turned to the New York Academy of Art to further his artistic career. He credits his time there as crucial substrate to his artistic practice also concluding in a Master Degree of Fine Arts in 2001. Over the past 17 years he has exhibited nationally and internationally. During this time he has also worked as arts educator at community centers, arts schools and at the collegiate level at his Alma Mater- St. John’s University, at City College of Technology and as a Teaching Assistant at The New York Academy of Art.
The artist works within the context of contemporary realism focusing on the narrative potential of figurative art. He explores states of fragility, dualism, conflict, identity, irony and the introspective pursuit of resolution and surrender toward attaining personal peace. Inspiration is often derived from genre paintings, abstract expressionism, and modern cinematic media. While many of his works are grounded in realism, he often explores the visual realms of a more modern aesthetic delving into matters of a vibrant chromatic palette, playing with textures, contemporary paint application methods, mixed media and expressionistic experimentation.
* This statement has been provided directly by the artist in association to their 14th International ARC Salon entries. This content has not been edited for typos or grammatical errors and has not been vetted for accuracy.
