John Goodman, a California native and graduate of the University of California, Davis, is an American painter whose work is deeply rooted in the traditions of early modernism and the Bay Area Figurative Movement. Known for his signature use of thick impasto and a restrained color palette, Goodman creates painterly surfaces that feel sculptural, direct, and intensely expressive. His work remains grounded in the figure, yet always leans toward abstraction, inviting ambiguity and exploration.

Many of Goodman’s oil paintings begin as drawings from live model sessions. Recently, however, his focus has shifted to 16th-century “found” drawings by anonymous artists. These historical sketches have become the springboard for evocative new compositions that depict theatrical scenes filled with dynamic human interaction. Though the original context of these figures is lost to time, Goodman reimagines their stories, allowing them to unfold with a sense of mystery. Through this process, he offers a visual bridge between past and present, suggesting that the emotions and gestures of long-ago lives still echo today.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 John Goodman: A 20 Year Survey 2002-2022, Kim Eagles-Smith Gallery, Mill Valley, CA

2014 Suspended Motion Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2013 Drawing to Paint Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2009 Interiors Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2006 The Language of Paint: Recent Work Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2004 Abstract to Figure Arlequin, San Francisco, CA

2003 John Goodman: Recent Work Café Borrone, Menlo Park, CA

2001 John Goodman: The Language of Paint Crossroads Café, San Francisco, CA

1998 Heads Beds and Landscapes Anna Veyna Design, San Francisco, CA

1997 John Goodman: Recent Work Café Borrone, Menlo Park, CA

1996 John Goodman The California Arts Project, California State University, Hayward, CA

1995 John Goodman: Capturing a Presence Wright and Veyna, San Francisco, CA

1994 John Goodman: Recent Work Café Borrone, Menlo Park, CA

1990 John Goodman: Meet the Artist, Consider his Art Inglis Art, Menlo Park, CA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2021 Kaleidoscope -Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA

2019 Head-to-Toe Andra Norris Gallery, Burlingame, CA

2013 Evolution of Style Arts Benicia Gallery, Benicia, CA

2013 Heads Gallerie Citi, Burlingame, CA

2012 Focus on the Figure Pence Gallery, Davis, CA

2010 Portraits Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2010 small treasures Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2009 I’ll Bet You Can’t Paint a Portrait: The Genesis of Bay Area Figurative Art Now, An exhibition juried by Theophilus Brown

Art Space 712, San Francisco, CA

2008 Talent 2008 Emerging Artists Salon Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

2008 The Figure Perimeter Gallery, Chicago, IL

2007 Summer Mix Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2005 A Bay Area Tradition: An Artists Group’s Focus on Figure Drawing City Picture Frame, San Francisco, CA

2003 The Figure William Lester Gallery, Inverness, CA

2003 Distillations of the Natural World. Sights and Insights O’Hanlon Gallery, Mill Valley, CA

2002 San Francisco International Art Expo Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

2002 Goodman and Borrone: Recent Work City Picture Frame, San Francisco, CA

2001 Talent 2001 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

2000 Talent 2000 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

1999 John Goodman Figurative and Abstract Landscape Paintings erl originals Gallery, Winston-Salem, NC

1998 Talent 1998 Allan Stone Gallery, New York, NY

1997 Spirit of the Mountain Bradford Gallery, San Anselmo, CA

1996 STAGE Interiors, San Francisco, CA

1995 AIDS benefit for Keith Haring Altarpiece, Expressions of Remembrance Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA

1995 Skins of the Soul Magic Theatre, San Francisco, CA

1994 USArt San Francisco Bingham Gallery, San Jose, CA

1993 USArt San Francisco Bingham Gallery, San Jose, CA

1990 Uncensored Art Show, Woodstock, NY

MUSEUM SHOWS

2012 Legacy in Continuum: Bay Area Figuration The Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA

2009 Painterly Painting: The Next Level Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA

Drawing to Paint, Elins Eagles-Smith Gallery, 2013

Evolution of Style, Arts Benicia, 2013

Legacy in Continuum: Bay Area Figuration, The Bakersfield Museum of Art, 2012

Painterly Painting: The Next Level, The Art Museum of Los Gatos, 2008

The Mercury News. Newspaper: Painterly Painting draws 13 notable artists to town, December 15, 2008

Floating Stone Productions. Film: The Collector, Allan Stone’s Life in Art 2007

Artist’s Sketchbook. Drawn to Better Company, June 2006

A Bay Area Tradition An Artists’ Group’s Focus on Figure Drawing, ePress, 2005

The Undressed Art: Why We Draw by Peter Steinhart, Knopf, 2004.

Gallery and Studio. Navigating the Pluralistic Pleasures of “Talent 2001” December 2001/January 2002

Gallery and Studio. Talent 2000: An Antidote to Trendiness

November/December 2000

Sunset Magazine. Same room, two looks April 2000

Woodstock Times. Newspaper: Dispensing with censors, January 18, 1990

San Jose Mercury News. Newspaper: Artists join to illuminate thriving work, July 18, 1990

1995 AIDS benefit for Keith Haring Altarpiece, Expressions of Remembrance Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, CA

1995 Skins of the Soul Magic Theatre, San Francisco, CA

1994 USArt San Francisco Bingham Gallery, San Jose, CA

1993 USArt San Francisco Bingham Gallery, San Jose, CA

1990 Uncensored Art Show, Woodstock, N