John Early
John Early is a multidisciplinary artist whose installations and other site-based works elevate the overlooked and reframe our relationship to things unnoticed, taken for granted, or cast aside. Early’s work particularly explores the poetic potential of simple gestures to destabilize calcified perspectives and create space for new ways of seeing and understanding. The past several years Early has been exploring applications of gold leaf on surface imperfections and using dirt as a medium for drawing and sculpture. Currently he is part of an interdisciplinary team creating an artist’s book addressing questions of spatial equity related to the absence of basketball courts in Forest Park.
Early earned his MFA from Washington University and his BA from the University of Virginia. His work has been exhibited at The Luminary, White Flag Projects, Center of Creative Arts (COCA), Orange County Center for Contemporary Arts, University of Notre Dame, Taylor University, and Covenant College. Recent public projects include participation in ART-IN-PLACE, a collaborative initiative between CNL Projects and Terrain Exhibitions; the Material World of Modern Segregation symposium hosted by Washington University; and MetroScapes, an Arts in Transit program placing artwork in bus shelters throughout the bi-state region.
Work by John Early
The Sun Will Get Up Soon, 2020
Land Marks, 2018
Eclipse (chair), 2016
Objects in Mirror, 2014
Terra Firma , 2011
Whereas Hoops, June 5, 2021
Whereas Hoops Artists’ Book, 2022
56 pages, 6” x 8.75”, Edition of 100
The Whereas Hoops Artists’ Book combines writing, drawing, digital collage, and archival research to highlight the rich history of basketball in St. Louis, reveal the longstanding racism present in the sporting landscape of Forest Park, and call for basketball courts to be built there. Copies were delivered to the Mayor of St. Louis, the Board of Aldermen, the Parks Department, and other local leaders to broaden the reach and impact of the project. In part due to the efforts of Whereas Hoops, outdoor basketball courts are scheduled to open in Forest Park in 2024.
Whereas Hoops Artists’ Book, 2022
Whereas Hoops, July 15, 2022
Whereas Hoops, June 5, 2021