JOHN SURO
My artistic practice is transdisciplinary and inescapably concerns the intersections of self, thought, trauma, loss, spirituality, sexuality, politics, shifting perception, and transformation. I combine abstract paintings, surface art and objects or constructions together in conversation. My paintings and surface art are a mix of natural and synthetic materials which lend themselves to creating texture. My constructions are a mix of objects – found and sought, and ready-mades. My individual works may stand alone and may also be grouped together as installations. I continue to process the polemics of LGBTIQ oppression and have come to a new understanding of myself and my art not only as abstract but also as queer, not in a sexual sense, but as a political affirmation.
John Suro was born in Meriden, CT in 1965. John attended Catholic schools and earned a B.A. in Visual Art and Urban Studies at Holy Cross in 1987. He was a graphic designer and writer for 25 years. He changed careers and has been teaching Pre-K-8 art for the past 8 years. John’s earliest and most personal artistic influences include his father Walter Surowiecki, an abstract painter and sculptor, and his Godmother, Nellie Wawrzaszek, a floral and landscape painter.