Artist's Biography - Marion Meyer Contemporary Art

John Szabo
Floating White Rectangles I, 36 x 36 inches, Acrylic on Wood, 2007
“A rising star…Szabo's work is inventive and thoughtful, displaying a great deal
of care in detail and concept...in the vein of Mark Rothko."
-- Roberta Carasso, Art Critic, PHD, Art History, NYU
Orange County Register, 2007
Biography
John Szabo, a painter, filmmaker and writer lives in San Clemente, California.
His paintings are original, acrylic based, sometimes finished with a thick coat of clear polymer.
Szabo paints on either canvas or a deep-cradled hardboard, which is an oak wood surface
thinly coated with gesso and a frame of pine. He uses only the finest art
materials including Golden brand acrylic paints and archival quality braced canvases.
In 2008 Szabo’s paintings appeared in the Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, “Winter Blue” and
“Something Red” Group Shows www.marionmeyergallery.com in Laguna Beach. In 2007 his
work was selected for the Juried Dana Point Art Festival www.danapointartfesitval.com in
Dana Point, California and for a solo show at Townley Fine Arts in Laguna Beach. He has also
shown at The Orange County Center for Contemporary Art www.occca.org in Santa Ana,
California.
Szabo was recently interviewed by renowned art critic Roberta Carasso,
www.carasso.com/roberta, for a story published in The Orange County Register in which she
wrote: “Szabo's work is inventive and thoughtful, displaying a great deal of care in detail and
concept...in the vein of Mark Rothko."
His journalism has appeared in The Los Angeles Times and The Orange County Register
and his poems in Poetry Magazine, The Elephant Ear and The James Dickey Journal.

Szabo’s documentary film “Creativity Explored”, about an art gallery by the same name in San
Francisco, premiered on PBS.
He earned a Master of Fine Arts in Journalism from Indiana University, with a focus on
Reporting The Arts, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from UC Irvine.
Artist’s Statement
Many things inspire me. It can be something as simple as a random patch of ground that
catches my attention where the texture, color and composition of concrete, asphalt, oil and
years of street grime mix. Sometimes I will work on a piece over a few weeks and other times I
will set something aside and complete it over a few months.
Art has the power of placing you in the Now. The present. We all spend too much time dwelling
on the past or worrying about the future. Great art allows you to live in the present. Art is about
an experience between the viewer and the art. Whether it be painting, writing, film, music or
theatre.
Every painting is a process of discovery and experiment. I vary my techniques sometimes
using a palette and sometimes mixing paints directly on the surface. I rarely use brushes
favoring metal and plastic application tools. I paint in many layers then sand or scratch away to
allow the painting to reveal itself. I especially enjoy the art of Richard Diebenkorn, Mark Rothko
and Marc Chagall.
Rather than speak in intellectual or convoluted artistic terms about my paintings I prefer each
person bring a new and personal interpretation based on their own life history, experience,
emotions and chemistry. I hope one can view my paintings and be inspired by whatever
emotions they experience.
I consider my paintings a culmination of a lifetime of work in the arts with a focus on
photography, filmmaking, painting and writing – poetry, short fiction and journalism.
John Szabo
Education
1989 M.A. Indiana University. Ernie Pyle School of Journalism.
Concentration in Reporting The Arts.
Completed M.A. thesis on painters under guidance of Professor Peter Jacobi, previous editor
of the New York Times Arts Section and renowned art critic.
1985 B.A. University of California, Irvine. Political Science.

Exhibits
Szabo has painted since 1997 but did not begin showing his work until 2001.
2008 Marion Meyer Contemporary Art, “Winter Blue” and “Something Red” Group Shows
www.marionmeyergallery.com
Laguna Beach, CA.
2007 The Cove Gallery, December Guest Artist www.covegallerylaguna.com Laguna Beach,
CA.
2007 Townley Fine Arts. Solo Show, Laguna Beach, CA. www.townleyfineart.com.
2007 Orange County Center for Contemporary Open Call Exhibit. Santa Ana, CA.
www.occca.org
2007 Juried Dana Point Art Festival, Dana Point, CA.
2005-1998 Mission Street Gallery, Group Show, San Francsico, CA
Private Collections
Szabo has sold to private collectors in Laguna Beach including the owner of The Sapphire
Grille Restaurant and other private collectors in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Press
A critique of Szabo’s art appeared in The Orange County Register in December 2007 by
Roberta Carasso, Art Critic. PHD, NYU www.carasso.com/roberta who wrote: “A rising
start…Szabo's work is inventive and thoughtful, displaying a great deal of care in detail and
concept...in the vein of Mark Rothko."