Wesley, John

* 25.11.1928 Los Angeles, † 10.2.2022 New York City

John Wesley was one of the exponents of American Pop Art, but developed his own independent style.Born in Los Angeles in 1928, Wesley attended Los Angeles City College and the University of California between 1946 and 1950.

After numerous casual jobs, in 1960 Wesley decided to devote himself exclusively to painting. In his early paintings he used imaginary stamps and seals, until he switched to a pictorial language inspired by comic strips. Unlike comic strips, however, his colour palette is limited to 3-4 colours, and the flat painting style, despite its figurative nature, is more reminiscent of minimalist compositions and manga comics. He also never used the comics as a real model like Roy Lichtenstein, for example. In his works, Wesley dealt sometimes humorously with everyday life, especially life in the USA. In 1972 John Wesley was one of the participants in documenta 5. In 1989 he was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Grant, and in 1998 and 2004 he received the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award. In 2000, his oeuvre was honoured with a comprehensive retrospective at PS1 Contemporary Art Centre.

John Wesley died in New York City in 2022.