JOHN RICHARD ANDERSON (1931–2021)

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Although Anderson held a solo show at the Yankton Area Arts Association at G.A.R. Hall in 2009, his paintings remained hidden from the rest of the world until 2018 when 51 of his lyrical abstract paintings were showcased for the exhibition Uncovered in Denver, Colorado and an eponymous art catalogue was published.

In 2019, his new collection of work Explored was shown in a group exhibition at the 73 Art Agency Skybox. The second catalogue, featuring works from across the artist’s career, including two early paintings from the 1960s, eight from the 1990s, and sixteen completed in 2018, was published by Spring Cedars in 2019.

In 2020, a selection of paintings was displayed at the South Dakota Art Museum for the Abstraction: Eight South Dakotans exhibition and two acquired for the museum's permanent art collection. In 2021, while battling and overcoming a COVID infection, Anderson held a solo show in Eleven Abstractions, an online exhibition. In 2022, 73 Art Agency held a two-person exhibition exploring the attraction of pairing different styles, specifically abstract and expressionist arts.

John R. Anderson’s work is representative of the Lyrical Abstraction style of the 1960s, a grand melody of color, texture, and movement. The emergence of Lyrical Abstraction, is rooted in Abstract Expressionism, the first authentically American avant-garde art movement that flourished in post-WWII. This unconventional approach to art reflected a time of ingenuity and evolution. Like the Action painters of that time, Anderson applied paint with energetic gestural movements - sometimes by dribbling or splashing - and with no preconceived idea of what the imagery will look like. He approached the canvas with expressive brush strokes and emphasized the physical act of painting as an essential part of the finished product. The artist merged the abstract and conceptual with bold color, making the work a medley of ideas, brushstroke, color, and emotion—hence, lyrical. The artist used large canvases and acrylic paint, treating all parts of the canvas with equal importance, moving between easel and floor for dripping, splattering, or smearing.

Despite not showing his work for almost 50 years, Anderson’s art has been very well received. Numerous experts in the field agree his paintings are exquisite examples of Lyrical Abstraction. "Every morning I look at my JRA, and every day I discover something new, be it shape, color, or message. It brightens my day, sometimes it challenges me in a positive way," said one of our clients. We could not agree more. John Anderson undeniably left his mark on the world of art.

John R. Anderson passed away in Yankton in 2021.