john@schuermanfineart.com
https://www.schuermanfineart.com/
he/him/his

BIO 

John Schuerman is an environmental artist and curator of socially themed exhibitions that address current concerns in our collective psyche.

Over the past decade his curatorial projects have been produced in over thirty venues across the Midwest, including the Plains Art Museum, Fargo, ND; the Tweed Museum of Art, Duluth, MN; and an upcoming exhibition at the Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN. His provocative exhibits engage viewers on today’s most pressing issues. For example, he’s produced exhibits about empathy, human overpopulation, gun violence, money, time, nationalism, identity, conflict, environmentalism, and abuses of power.

Schuerman’s artwork reflects his deep interest in nature both human and nonhuman. His aesthetic style and social consciousness formed as he grew up on a dairy farm in southern Wisconsin. Currently his artwork examines the human anomaly within nature by contrasting the patterns of nature with the forms of human abstract thought such as language, models, systems, games etc. His drawings, videos, paintings, hand-made books and installations have been presented in numerous exhibitions nationally.

TEACHING PHILOSOPHY & MENTORSHIP

I believe that art is a progressive way to reckon with life, first for the artist, and then audiences. I like to work with artists that are actively trying to figure something out for themselves. I also value mastery of craft combined with conceptual integrity. If an artist is working to develop these things I feel like I can engage with them, share my responses, possibly connect them to people in my network, or possibly include their work in an upcoming exhibit. I like mentoring because I like helping people if I can, and also because I get to visit with artists whose work I don’t yet know.