John Holcomb - Press Kit
John Holcomb is a Kansas painter picking fights with art history
Represented by
Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
London · Miami · New York · Since 2016
Exhibition record
2 solo shows
5 group shows
Multiple fairs per year for a decade
Medium
Oil pastel over acrylic · Originals only · No prints
Based in
Kansas, USA · 15 years painting
PracticeJohn Holcomb is a painter based in Kansas working in oil pastel over acrylic — loose and instinctive on the surface, with real structural intention underneath. His work moves across the female figure, florals, and the American frontier, connected less by subject matter than by attitude: bold, direct, and unapologetic about color.
Artist Statement"Every subject I paint came to me with a history it didn't ask for. That's exactly why I paint it."
"I'm not interested in painting the world as it has been seen. I want the one that got painted over."
SeriesThe Original
A long-form series examining the female nude in Western art. Holcomb appropriates poses and compositions from the canon — Titian, Boucher, Ingres, Matisse — not as homage but as correction. The women in these paintings were never the object within them. They are the reason the paintings exist at all.
Chroma Cowboys
America's most mythologized icon recast in high-chroma, feminine color. Saturated teals. Pastel lavenders. The silhouettes stay familiar; the color has other ideas. Softness here is not decoration — it is a form of defiance.
Florals
The Dutch Floral as a metaphor for the variety of shapes and sizes that beauty comes in.
Solo Exhibitions2022 — Echo Echo, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
https://www.rebeccahossack.com/exhibitions/307/2019 — Priceless, Miami Project, Miami FL
https://www.rebeccahossack.com/exhibitions/279/Group Exhibitions2024 — Dante Biennial, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
https://www.rebeccahossack.com/exhibitions/behold-your-heart/2020 – Springtime, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
https://www.rebeccahossack.com/exhibitions/284/2018 – Springtime Selections, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
https://www.rebeccahossack.com/exhibitions/249/2017 –Images of Selfhood, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
https://www.rebeccahossack.com/exhibitions/221/Outside, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, New York
https://www.mutualart.com/Exhibition/Rebecca-Hossack-Art-Gallery-NYC--Outside/F14041D0DED49266For a full exhibition and art fair record, see C.V. below.
Press & ProfileChroma Cowboy Love
The English Room, Jan. 2026
theenglishroom.biz/art-love-chroma-cowboys-by-john-holcomb/John Holcomb x Gorman
Gorman, Australia, 2023
gormanshop.com.au/en-us/blogs/lookbooks/john-holcomb-x-gormanCitizen Femme Hotlist
Citizen Femme, Dec. 2019
https://citizen-femme.com/2019/12/02/citizen-femme-hotlist-02-12-19/Feature
Herringbone Bindery, Jan. 2018
https://www.herringbonebindery.com/blog/2018/01/16/artist-john-holcomb/John Holcomb
The Jealous Curator, Jan. 2018
thejealouscurator.com/blog/2018/01/08/john-holcomb/John Holcomb Artsy Profile
https://www.artsy.net/artist/john-holcombContactFor gallery and curatorial inquiries:
Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery
info@rebeccahossack.com
rebeccahossack.com
For press and all other inquiries:
studio@johnholcomb.com
johnholcomb.com
Instagram: @john_holcomb
Full C.V.2026 AAF New York, New York NY
2025 New York Outsider Art Fair, New York NY
2024 New York Outsider Art Fair, New York NY
Dante Biennial, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London UK
2023 Art Palm Beach, Palm Beach FL
2022 Art Miami, Miami FL
Shanghai Art Fair, Shanghai
Echo Echo, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, (pictures)*
Seattle Art Fair, Seattle WA
Art Market San Francisco, San Francisco CA
LA Art Show, Los Angeles CA
2021 CONTEXT Miami, Miami FL
2020 LA Art Show, Los Angeles CA
2019 Priceless, Miami Project, Miami FL (pictures)*
Art Miami, Miami FL
Art New York, New York NY
Art Market San Francisco, San Francisco CA
Art Palm Springs, Palm Springs CA
LA Art Show, Los Angeles CA
2018 Art Miami, Miami FL
Texas Contemporary, Houston TX
Art Market Hamptons, Bridgehampton NY
Flora, Cornell Art Museum, Miami FL
Context New York, New York NY
Art Market San Francisco, San Francisco CA
Springtime, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, April 5-28
Art Paris, Grand Palais, Paris FR
Art Palm Springs, Palm Springs CA
Outsider Art Fair, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York NY
LA Art Show, LA Convention Center, Los Angeles CA
2017 Context Miami, Context Pavilion, Miami FL
Images of Selfhood, Rebecca Hossack Gallery,
Seattle Art Fair, Seattle WA
Art Market Hamptons, Bridgehampton NY
Art New York, Pier 92, New York City NY
Art Market San Francisco, San Francisco CA
Art Paris, Grand Palais, Paris FR
Outside, Rebecca Hossack Gallery NYC
Outsider Art Fair, The Metropolitan Pavilion, New York City NY
————————
2016 Cheers to 2017, The Bourgeois Pig, Lawrence KS*
Culture Studies (Preview), Golden Rule, Topeka KS*
Settlers and Such, HAVEN, Topeka KS*
Works in Progress, PTs at College Hill, Topeka KS
2015 Alumni Show, Siloam Springs, AR
Best Summer Ever, .Pop Shop, Kansas City, KS
Floral Collection, Holton KS
2013 The USP, Holton KS
2012 The Show, Siloam Springs, AR
2011 Historical Jayhawk Theater Group Show, Topeka KS
2010 ReThink Topeka, Topeka KS
2009 Spring Fling, Omaha NE
The UP, Upstage Gallery, Topeka KS*
2007 First Show, Siloam Springs, AR