The exquisite topography of surface in the paintings of John O’Connell awakens within the viewer mankind’s deep primal connection with the natural world. The textured surfaces reveal the marks of their creation, and bear witness to an intensity that extends beyond the painted canvas. O’Connell’s imagery of insect forms and pods (these objects can just as easily be viewed as discarded husks) acknowledge the fullness of the life cycle, indeed the transience and delicate balance of existence.

The work of John O’Connell was featured in the Bill Lowe Gallery’s premiere exhibition “Ancestors: In Search of Source” held in Santa Monica in 2006. John O’Connell has exhibited throughout the United States, including a solo show held at the Bill Lowe Gallery in Atlanta in 2005, as well as solo exhibitions in Seattle and Salt Lake City. He attended the University of Connecticut and the Massachusetts College of Art; he has been a professor of art at the University of Utah, Middle Tennessee State University, and the University of Connecticut.