DVAA Member since 2000
John James Pron
Website:
About:
I am an ARCHITECT, an ARTIST and an EMERITUS PROFESSOR from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University in Philadelphia. I graduated with an M.Arch from the Graduate School of Fine Arts (now the Weitzman School) of the University of Pennsylvania and almost immediately began a 37-year career teaching. Retiring in 2013, I was the recipient of Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching as well as the Temple University Great Teacher Award- its highest academic honor.
I was a member of The THIRD STREET GALLERY ON 2ND STREET (in Old City Philadelphia) from 1998-2016, serving as its co-Director for 2-years and exhibiting in seven 1- and 2-person shows during that time. In 2016, I became more actively involved in the DA VINCI ART ALLIANCE (DVAA), serving as co-chair of the Exhibitions Committee from 2016-2021. I have also staged major shows at DVAA: YO! PIRANESI in 2017 and ROCKY (re)RUNS in 2018- both co-curated with my own design participation. And two solo shows: NOT SO FAST LAST JUDGEMENT in 2019 and PHILADELPHIA FABULIST: TALES OF THE CITY in 2020. While continuing to support DVAA with its expanding mission to bring art to the community, I was recently admitted to the CERULEAN ARTS COLLECTIVE in Philadelphia, with a solo show scheduled for July 2023.
Aside from my academic career, I am also a registered practicing ARCHITECT, serving as Director of Architecture and Design for HOSPITALITY DESIGN ARCHITECTS of Chalfont PA for 30 years until 2019- a firm that specialized in the Adaptive Reuse of older buildings of unique character and design integrity, preserving their most meaningful qualities while incorporating contemporary changes to their functions. While serving as a consultant for numerous buildings in the city and region, I have extensively renovated two hotels- the Desmond Crown Plaza in Albany New York and the Desmond Hilton Doubletree in Malvern PA.
Artist Statement:
“Emerging from the isolation of this pandemic, I recognize that I am in a different mindset (as are most of this nation’s institutions), and so, I am supplementing my artistic output by recently joining the CERULEAN ARTS COLLECTIVE in downtown Philadelphia. While continuing to support the mission of DaVinci to reinforce the presence and the opportunities of "art in the community", a July 2023 solo show scheduled at Cerulean will give me the opportunity to showcase my own current artwork.
My gallery art is very much influenced by my extensive background as an architect and as a university teacher. I am drawn to spatial settings- both real and imaginary. I focus far more on human habitations than on nature. I love the dynamism of cities (especially Philadelphia and Rome, Italy- where I also lived and taught) and appreciate how urban diversity enriches human experience. I am an advocate of the concept of both/and rather than either/or. This is the essence of Adaptive Reuse- preserving the best of the past while incorporating the changes demanded by the present, with the resultant experience being the sympathetic contrast of oppositions. Not surprisingly, my interest in collage is a preferred medium, counterpointing old archival photos and prints with my vividly rendered interventions. And finally, as most architects are, I am motivated by a social conscience to improve human lives or, at the very least, raise a pungent graphic awareness of serious issues. Sometimes, my gallery shows provide practical solutions, while others are surreal fantasies. Sometimes they are grim scientific acknowledgements, while other times, they are impertinent interjections.”
Exhibitions at DVAA:
