john seal has been creating work that explores the complexities of contemporary american culture often combining various diciplines, such as painting, sculpture, photography and installation to achieve a desired conceptual outcome. by isolating and magnifying certain people, objects and or events, much like carefully inspecting the pieces of a jig saw puzzle before placing them, john hopes to help us gain a better understanding of how they fit in and relate to the world at large.
born in seattle, wa. in 1971 mr. seal grew up the youngest of seven children in an expansive and decaying development of fifties tract housing, and was raised(in typical modern fashion) primarily by television icons such as gilligan and he-man. this is a rather important point to keep in mind when analyzing his work.
mr. seal attended the university of washington's painting program where he studied under michael spafford before transferring to the school of visual arts in new york. while in new york john worked with several artists including robert indiana.
after relocating to seattle, john emersed himself in seattle's growing art scene becoming involved with many respected institutions such as soil arts cooperative, consolidated works. his work has been chosen for various high-profile exhibitions including; LAVA 2002 and the tacoma art museum's biennial. his work is in the collections of several private collectors as well as the Museum of History and Industy in seattle.