Jon Sarkin was an American visual artist based in Gloucester, MA.
He was best known for his frenetic and visually arresting drawings and pantings, which mix words and images. These drawings and paintings cross-hatch and scrawl their way through pop-culture, rock ‘n’ roll, the mundane, and the subconscious.
Jon’s projects, past and current, include:
- The cover for the Guster album "Easy Wonderful", and the video for the Guster song "Do You Love Me"
- Big Boy Art, a collaboration between Jon and photographer Paul Cary Goldberg
- The design for a hand-woven contemporary rug, woven in Nepal, for Landry & Arcari
- Several successful collections of non-fungible tokens (NFTs)
- A commissioned mural for the Boston-area advertising firm Mullen
- Unchained Brain, an hour-long live show based on his experiences surrounding his stroke
Jon was also a visiting professor at the Pingry School in New Jersey, as well as Salem State college in Massachusetts.
Since Jon's death, studio staff are hard at work digitizing, archiving, and disseminating the art through sales and museum donations.
Artwork
In the Press
Jon was most notably featured in the Fall 2023 issue of Raw Vision magazine. You can read the article or order the issue on their website.
Jon has been the subject of much media attention since the early 1990s including GQ, The New York Times, The New Yorker, BBC, and The Discovery Channel. He was the subject of a biography, Shadows Bright as Glass, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Amy Ellis Nutt.
If you're interested in writing about Jon, review our press kit and/or reach out for an interview at art@jonsarkin.com. What follows is a non-exhaustive list of articles and videos from high-profile publications, as well as relevant television and film appearances.
2023
- Arts Council of Princeton presents Jon Sarkin and Hannah Fink in "May You Be Happy" - New Jersey Stage, Oct 2023
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Aux frontières de l'art brut (French), paris.fr, Aug 2023
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Jon Sarkin: The Eternal Now, The Journal of Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, April 2023
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About the Cover Artist: Judith by Jon Sarkin, Practical Neurology, February 2023
2022
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Cómo ser creativo como un niño de 5 años, Yorokubo, June 2022
2021
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Worcester Living: Juniper Rag founders celebrate creative community in Worcester and beyond, Worcester Gazette, Oct 2021
- V.2 Equinox (Featured Artist), Juniper Rag, Oct 2021
2020
- Renowned North Shore artist to show work at Princeton, The Salem News, Taylor Ann Bradford, Jan 2, 2020
- Jon featured in the documentary film The Tony Millionaire Show
2019
- Art Reception for Jon Sarkin and Paul Cary Goldberg at Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI), Good Morning Gloucester, Catherine, January 8 2019
- AROUND CAPE ANN: Celebrating art on the working waterfront, Gloucester Daily Times, Gail McCarthy, Jan 10, 2019
2018
- The mystery of why some people become sudden geniuses, BBC, Zaria Gorvett, Jan 6 2018
- Mackerel! With Jon Sarkin and Paul Cary Goldberg, Cape Ann Museum, March 10 2018
- "Unchained Brain" - Jon Sarkin - Full Live Performance, YouTube, March 19, 2018
2017
- Fish and Bricks, Good Morning Gloucester, Catherine, Feb 21 2017
- Jon Sarkin Artist Talk at Alternatives' Heritage Gallery at the Whitin Mill, YouTube, Nov 2 2017
- The Surprising Journey of Jon Sarkin and the Fish City Rug Collection, Landry and Acari, Dec 12, 2017
- Art by Jon Sarkin spotlighted at Alternatives gallery in Whitinsville through Dec. 29, telegram.com, Nancy Sheehan, Dec 9 2017
2016
- Writings on the wall: 10 more of the coolest agency murals, Digiday, Tanya Dua, February 23 2016
2015
- Embracing the unexpected, Gloucester Daily Times, Gail McCarthy, Dec 10, 2015
2014
- New Show Opens March 1st at Flatrocks Gallery in Lanesville, Good Morning Gloucester, Vickie & Peter, February 24 2014
2013
- Affecting Perception: Art & Neuroscience – new exhibition and seminar series, Oxford, UK, Arts and Health, Jan 20 2013
- When Brain Damage Unlocks The Genius Within, Popular Science, Adam Piore, Feb 19 2013
2012
- Showcasing the work of an outsider artist, The Boston Globe, Cate McQuaid, February 1 2012
- Check Out The Bad Ass New Fish Sign Outside Jon Sarkin’s Fish City Studios, Good Morning Gloucester, Joey Ciaramitaro, Aug 9 2012
2011
- Tormented by Genius, Discovery Channel Documentary, Screaming Flea Productions, Jan 11 2011
- Science Channel Explores ‘Ingenious Minds’, Discovery Channel Blog, gweiswasser, Feb 16 2011
- An Evening with Guster and Jon Sarkin, YouTube, Mar 18 2011
- Jon Sarkin: When Brain Injuries Transform Into Art, WBUR, Terry Gross, April 18, 2011
- UnCovered Interview - Jon Sarkin - Guster Easy Wonderful album cover - Rock Pop Gallery, April 25 2011
- Broad Brushstrokes Obscure a View of Brain Trauma, The New York Times, Abigail Zuger, M.D., May 30, 2011
- The Word on the Street, Boston.com, Jan Gardner, June 19 2011
- The man who couldn't stop drawing, The Guardian, Amy Ellis Nutt, July 29 2011
- 6 People Who Gained Amazing Skills from Brain Injuries, Cracked, Eddie Rodriguez, November 29 2011
- Cracked.com Features Our Boy Jon Sarkin, Good Morning Gloucester, Joey Ciaramitaro, December 1 2011
2010
- Guster Enlists Artist Jon Sarkin for Easy Wonderful Album Cover, Vanity Fair, Dana Mathews, Sept 14 2010
- Jon Sarkin Interview At His Birdseye Building Studio Part I, Good Morning Gloucester, Joey Ciaramitaro, September 29 2010
- Jon on an episode of Ingenious Minds, Dec 13 2010
2009
- ‘Unbound’ artist has right stroke for firm, Boston Herald, Tenley Woodman June 17 2009
- From Stroke Victim to Commissioned Artist: The Curious Case of Jon Sarkin, Vanity Fair, Adam Klappholz, June 18 2009
- Mullen Welcomes Boston Ad Community to Swanky New Offices, Adrants, Steve Hall, Jun 19 2009
- Accidental Artist, 4-part documentary
2008
- Jon featured on ABC Medical Mysteries
- Jon Sarkin's studio, The New England Journal of Aesthetic Research, Greg Cook, Thursday, July 31, 2008
- Jon Sarkin: The Accidental Artist - Chapter 1: A sudden shift, nj.com / The Star Ledger, Amy Ellis Nutt, Dec. 07 2008
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Victims of Brain Trauma Driven to Create, ABC News, Bob Brown
September 9, 2008 - Jon Sarkin: A Medical Mystery and Artist Savant, Vanity Fair, Adam Klappholz, December 18 2008
2007
- Video: Painting the Mind, ABC Australia, April 2007
- Calvin Tomkins Papers, The Museum of Modern Art Archives, 2007
2006
- A Changed Man, The Boston Globe, Geoff Edgers, June 11 2006
- Maakie, Courtesy Of Jon Sarkin, boston.com Exhibitionist, Geoff Edgers, December 27, 2006
2005
-
What's your Story?, a mini-documentary based in NYC
2000
- Nobody's Family Is Going to Change, part 3: The artist formerly known as Dr Sarkin, This American Life, Ira Glass, August 11, 2000
1996
- Metamorphosis (pdf), Gentlemen's Quarterly, Andrew Corsello, July 15 1996
Other
- An old article about Jon in the UPenn Gazette
- Jon in Getty Images
The Books
The art of Jon Sarkin is an unmediated outpouring of creativity emerging from a mysterious psychological space we all possess, but which is usually inaccessible. The door to that world was unlocked for Jon by a catastrophic event, but what was lost was also accompanied by a new ability to communicate powerfully through visual art. The door for Jon remains open and through it he continues to share his unique vision with the world. In this richly illustrated book Colin Rhodes provides an invaluable introduction to the artist's work. |
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In "Shadows Bright As Glass: The Remarkable Story of One Man’s Journey from Brain Trauma to Artistic Triumph (Free Press)", Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amy Ellis Nut blends a range of neurological findings with the inspiring personal details of Sarkin’s transformative—and artistic—rehabilitation. Below, Nutt details Sarkin’s search for his new self, “line by line, color by color.” |
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The strength of this book is the thirty amazing individuals with special talents with art, music, and memory abilities. Dr. Osvaldo shares how each of us may also have a hidden gift waiting to be revealed. |