John began creating sculptures as a young boy and continued his passion on into college where he honed his talent. He received his Bachelors of Arts and Masters of Arts in Sculpture from San Jose State University in 1974 and 1975 respectively. Soon after he developed and taught furniture design and construction at West Valley and Mission Colleges. He has exhibited his work in shows at several respected venues throughout the years including winning two awards of merit in 2001 at the California State Fair, a show at the Barton Gallery in Sacramento with fellow artist Bob Freimark in ’02, and a One Man Show at Art Foundry Gallery in Sacramento in 2000. Besides his own work Mr. Hughes is also a recognized and sought after restorer of Carousel Animals for private collectors.
Explains the artist: “It was mostly orchards and farm land then. In the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s I watched it change into Silicon Valley, and the wall to wall people and buildings that it is now. The construction most used in those days was tilt ups made of cast concrete and steel lbeams. This is where the idea for the Ibeams came from. The bending of the Ibeam’s developed from the transformation of the fertile farmland into buildings and pavement. It seemed twisted tome to cover up some of the best farm landing the world with paving, houses, and buildings.” In many of his works the “Ibeam” becomes a metaphor:
“This is one of the reasons the lbeams are bent and twisted. The other part of the bending has to do with ideas. When you first conceive an idea, the way you plan it in your mind and what you actually end up with are usually different. The original thought has been bent or twisted by outside forces. That could be other people, government agencies, or natural forces like gravity pulling down on what you want to put up.” Mr. Hughes also explains the choice of different materials in his work:
“The materials I use vary. Bronze, wood, resin, cardboard, and found objects are used depending on the idea I want to express. Much of the wood is saved from throw away piles. The cardboard and paper is all packaging, mail, and magazines. I like to reclaim as much discarded material as I can. Some of the wood slabs were saved from orchards being torn out in the early 70’s. In those days they would bulldoze the trees into a pile and burn them. The lbeam piercing the wood slab is a metaphor for the destruction of an agricultural environment to transform it into urban sprawl. The bronze sculptures tend to deal more with the mind, ethics, and politics. Bureaucrats can take a simple matter, and twist it into a complicated form, i.e. if a monolith was a simple bill in Congress, it gets cut up and reconnected in strange ways that no one really wants.”
Enjoy viewing John W. Hughes’ wonderful collection of work on this site, most of which is currently available for purchase.