When John August Swanson reflects on his art, he always returns to what is his primary theme: seeing the sacred in
the ordinary. His art reflects how everyday life is filled with the divine, how those going about their daily tasks in loving service
of their community have God living within them. His work is transformed into parables of the everyday life we all share.

Artist-writer Gertrude Mueller Nelson has commented after viewing John’s art: “A spiritual life is not about escaping the
world and its daily requirements; it’s about infusing the world with a vision of the holy and discovering the divine in the
earthly task at hand.” This is the inspiration for John’s creative vision and the driving force for his art.

John Swanson’s life story reveals a great deal about his art and creative spirituality. He was born in 1938 in Los Angeles to
a Mexican mother and a Swedish father. Both were immigrants who found their way to Los Angeles. John attributes his
love of story telling to his mother, and his interest in Swedish folk art and the circus to his father, a fruit and vegetable
vendor. John’s parents separated when he was a child.

John didn’t really find his artistic avocation until he was 30 years old. Hounded by a sense of failure and weary of drifting
without goals, he decided to take an evening class on lettering and design from Sister Corita Kent at Immaculate Heart
College in Los Angeles. Corita Kent (1918-1986) was a highly respected artist, famous for her colorful silk screens. Her art
and teaching had a powerful creative and spiritual impact on John.

“Corita saved my life,” Swanson says. “She became a mentor and helped me find the door that had been closed in my life.
She opened me to art and ideas. She helped me find healing.” John credits Corita with introducing him to his primary art
form, the silk-screen process and guiding him to discover his own artistic path and voice. She helped him integrate his
deep-seated Christian faith and strong sense of social justice into his art and creativity.

John Swanson is a master printmaker whose medium is the serigraph, an intricate and complex form of silk-screen. His
unique style is influenced by the imagery of Persian and medieval miniatures, the tradition of Orthodox iconography, Latin
American folk art and Diego Rivera and the Mexican muralists. In all of John’s work the focus is the ordinary and the
emphasis is on the communal. His art is inherently narrative and expresses the stories that become visual allegories of our
everyday lives.

Much of John’s work explores Bible stories. His point is not to just illustrate these stories, but to visually narrate them. He
works to pull the viewer into the story so they can see it in a new light and rediscover its power and meaning for their own
lives. His art is a social act meant to engage and empower the viewer. John sees himself as one who holds up the values
of the community and retells its important stories so we can view them with listening eyes and apply their timeless
meaning to our complex, contemporary lives.

John’s art opens windows for us that help us regain the sense of joy and wonder we had as children. As adults living in our
everyday, self-absorbed world, we too often forget that we are part of an immense universe, filled with the mystery and the
majesty of God. The art of John August Swanson gives us a vision into the communal sacredness of life. He helps us
rediscover the inherent holiness of the ordinary and reconnect with the true wonder inherent in our everyday lives.

Exhibit thru Dec 2010 | Mon - Fri 8:30am - 5:00 pm | 920 Cherry Street SE | Grand Rapids, MI 49506

ICCF PRESENTS
Three Evenings with John August Swanson
6:00pm - 9:00pm  |  Artist Presentation at 7:30pm

Tue, Sept 14 | The Sacred in the Ordinary: Parables of Everyday Life
  Wed, Sept 15 | Justice & Peace Shall Kiss: Art, Beauty & Social Justice
      Thu, Sept 16 | Technique, Process & Vision: Reflections of a Printmaker