A Cooperative Art Gallery
Sunday: 11 AM – 5 PM
Monday: Closed for Classes
Tuesday: 11 AM – 5 PM
Wednesday: 11 AM – 5 PM
Thursday: 11 AM – 5 PM
Friday: 11 AM – 8 PM
Saturday: 11 AM – 5 PM
John is a self-taught artist whose journey from incarceration to transformation is embedded in every piece, his work is rooted in raw emotion, redemption, and personal truth.
Through surreal and expressive art, John offers original works, prints, and creative experiences that inspire healing, challenge stigma, and connect people to the deeper parts of themselves. This is more than art—it’s a testimony of growth, resilience, and the belief that beauty can rise from even the darkest places.
Discovering my talent has not only provided me with an outlet to express myself, art gave me an identity. My ability is a blessing, and I have worked hard to develop my natural talent into a skill, one that I am proud of. My art has opened many doors for me, metaphorically, and actually. Art has allowed me a safe space to deal with the various traumas I have endured and allowed me to transform my pain into beauty, touch the lives of others, and give me a sense of fulfillment like no other.
When people view my art, they see the real me—and stigmas attached to being an ex-convict. I was arrested as a teenager, in 1995, and subsequently sentenced to 25-to-life. Adjusting to living out a sentence that was longer than the life I had lived was difficult. I struggled to find my way. The harm I caused others and my family, left an emptiness inside. Although I knew I could not undo what was already done, I decided that I could not continue down a path of negativity or allow prison to define me.
Making a choice to be a light in a dark place, my transformation began with art. Through creating art, I not only found a way to express myself, I discovered my calling in life--my purpose. I realized that, far from the thugs and gangsters I had idolized as a teen, I was an artist. While I have always had a natural ability in art, my art would not have the depth and meaning it has without education. I am eternally grateful to all the people who believed in and invested in me. I would not be the success I am without the help from others. Like them, I am doing my best to "be the change I want to see in the world."