John Kearney
Encyclopedia
John Kearney is a Chicago- and Provincetown-based American artist famous for making figurative sculptures, often of animals, using multiple, found metal objects, specifically bumpers from automobiles.
in Perugia
, Italy. In 1950, he co-founded the Contemporary Art Workshop in Chicago. Subsequently, he has lived and worked in Italy many times, most notably in Rome 1963–64 while on a Fullbright Award and again in 1985 and 1992 while serving as a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome
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Kearney learned his welding skills as a World War II U.S. Navy sailor while performing underwater repair of naval vessels
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Life
Kearney received his artistic education at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and the Universita per StranieriForeigners University of Perugia
The University for Foreigners Perugia is a university located in Perugia, Italy. It is one of two Italian universities oriented towards foreign students .- History :...
in Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
, Italy. In 1950, he co-founded the Contemporary Art Workshop in Chicago. Subsequently, he has lived and worked in Italy many times, most notably in Rome 1963–64 while on a Fullbright Award and again in 1985 and 1992 while serving as a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
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Kearney learned his welding skills as a World War II U.S. Navy sailor while performing underwater repair of naval vessels
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
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Awards
- Fulbright Award to Rome in 1963–64
- Italian Government Grant in 1963–64
- Visiting Artists at America Academy in Rome, 1985 and 1992
Collections that Own Kearney's Work
- Aon (Standard Oil Building) in Chicago
- Detroit Children's Museum
- Illinois State Capitol Visitors Center, Springfield, IL
- Mitchell Museum, Mt. Vernon, Illinois
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago
- Ulrich Museum, Wichita, Kansas
- Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, Illinois
Solo exhibitions
- New York City at A.C.A. Gallery, 1964 to 1979
- Berta Walker Gallery, Provincetown, MA, 1992 to 1997
In Chicago Area
- Academy of Science (T. rex)
- AonAonAon or AON may refer to:* Aon , son of Poseidon in Greek mythology* Aon , a genus of moths* Aon , a Latin trigraph* Aon, a composition by Jazz Pianist Harold Mabern, ca...
(formerly the Amoco Building and the Standard Oil Building) (three deer) - Chicago Park District (two life size Horses)
- Clark and Deming intersection (two goats)
- Elaine Place (two giraffes)
- Field Museum, South Entrance (two bronzes)
- Francis Parker SchoolFrancis W. Parker School (Chicago)Francis W. Parker School is an independent day school serving students from junior kindergarten through grade twelve of high school. Located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, the school is based on the progressive educational philosophies of John Dewey and Colonel Francis Wayland Parker,...
- Goudy School (double life-size puma)
- Lincoln Park ZooLincoln Park ZooLincoln Park Zoo is a free zoo located in Lincoln Park in Chicago, Illinois. The zoo was founded in 1868, making it one of the oldest zoos in the nation. The zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums ....
(chromium plated bull elephant elephant) - McCormick Seminary, Hyde Park, on University Avenue north of 55th Street (a ram named Herald [sic] or Harold)
- Michigan Avenue Magnificent MileMagnificent MileThe Magnificent Mile, sometimes referred to as The Mag Mile, is a neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, that runs along a portion of Michigan Avenue extending from the Chicago River to Oak Street in the Near North Side community area. The district is located adjacent to downtown; it is also one block...
(mooseMoose (W-02-03)Moose is a sculpture by John Kearney on the Magnificent Mile in front of 401 North Michigan and across Michigan Avenue from the Wrigley Building in the Near North Side community area of Chicago, Illinois. It is a welded steel work of art created in between 2002 and 2003...
) - Museum of Science and IndustryMuseum of Science and Industry (Chicago)The Museum of Science and Industry is located in Chicago, Illinois, USA in Jackson Park, in the Hyde Park neighborhood adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is housed in the former Palace of Fine Arts from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
(life-size gorilla) - Oakton Community CollegeOakton Community CollegeOakton Community College is a two-year community college with campuses in Skokie, Illinois and Des Plaines, Illinois. District 535 serves 450,000 residents in northeast Cook County, Illinois...
- Oz ParkOz ParkOz Park is a public park in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago. It is located at 2021 N Burling Street, at the corner of Lincoln and Webster, just south of the Lincoln, Halsted, and Fullerton intersection. The park borders Lincoln Park High School and features many statues fashioned after...
(the Tin ManTin WoodmanThe Tin Woodman, sometimes referred to as the Tin Man or the Tin Woodsman , is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum...
(1995), Cowardly LionCowardly LionThe Cowardly Lion is the main character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum. He is a Lion, but he talks and interacts with humans....
(2001), ScarecrowScarecrow (Oz)The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator William Wallace Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one. In reality, he is only two days old and merely...
(2005), and DorothyDorothy GaleDorothy Gale is the protagonist of many of the Oz novels by American author L. Frank Baum, and the best friend of Oz's ruler Princess Ozma. Dorothy first appears in Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and reappears in most of its sequels...
and TotoToto (dog)Toto is the name of a fictional dog in L. Frank Baum's Oz series of children's books, and works derived from them. The name is pronounced with a long "O", a homonym of "toe toe". The dog was originally a cairn terrier drawn by W.W. Denslow for the first edition of the Wizard of Oz...
(2007) from The Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of OzThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
) - Sedgwick, 1800 block (two horses)
- Uptown Hull House (gorilla)
- South Prairie Residence (life-size Kodiak bear with cub)
Elsewhere
- Dallas Museum of Natural History (Chromosaurs: a t-rex, stegosaurus, and triceratops)
- Boys and Girls Club of Fayetteville, Arkansas (life-size giraffe and gorilla)
- Ulrich Museum, Wichita State UniversityWichita State UniversityWichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....
, Kansas (Grandfather's Horse)
External links
- Contemporary Arts Workshop
- Location of Outdoor Sculpture in Chicago
- Longer review at Berta Walker Gallery
- List of outdoor sculptures on Anatomically Correct
- Chicago Tribune article on the Goudy School sculpture
- History of "Herald
[sic the Ram" at McCormick seminary] - Another version of "Herald
[sic the Ram"] - Kearney's Chromosaurs Sculptures – Video on YouTube