Instructor
John Andrew Dixon
From a solid foundation in design, John Andrew Dixon creates intricate collage artworks full of color and visual allusions. By repurposing discarded paper and other devalued remnants of everyday culture, he uses his aesthetic sensitivity to produce enduring artworks that exemplify his refined process and exceptional artisanship. Dense with layers of ingredients, his work captures a visual balance that is rich with spatial harmony (color, shape, texture, rhythm) and emotional impressions (surprise, intrigue, beauty, joy).
The spontaneity seen in his work comes from the depth of his intuition. “Almost anything that has been cast off has the potential to be renewed, infused with symbolic meaning, and connected with our awareness,” Dixon says. “I balance my approach to the medium by considering collage as an artifact as well as a painting. The result is derived more from creative impulse than from conscious decision-making, almost like improvisational music. When the literal characteristics of source material are successfully transcended, their juxtaposition as ingredient elements offers a distinctive, shared experience to observers. I am gratified when they participate in this sense of pure discovery.”
To understand collage and its history as an art form, Dixon has studied the work of Schwitters, Höch, Hausmann, Cornell, Rauschenberg, Otnes, and Kolář, as well as contemporary practitioners. Dixon earned a degree in Graphic Design from the University of Cincinnati College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP). As an adjunct associate professor, he taught the fundamentals of graphic communication at Wright State University in Ohio for six years. After a 45-year career as an award-winning designer and illustrator, Dixon brings a mature focus to his work in mixed media. As a fine artist and exhibitor, he writes on the topic of collage at his blogsite — “The Collage Miniaturist.” He works from a home studio in the heart of downtown Danville, KY and is an adjudicated member of the Kentucky Crafted Program administered by the Kentucky Arts Council.
