John Sonsini
John Sonsini | Christie's
Hot right now: 10 American post-war and contemporary artists to have in your collection
13 February 2020
John Sonsini's "Fernando Guerrero, Mexico; Francisco Tambriz, Guatemala; Rocky Pivarral, Guatemala C.A.; Rogelio Taurequin (Rogelio No. 2)" (Four Works), 2003, Oil on Canvas
(John Sonsini / Christie's Post-War to Present)
John Sonsini
Who? Born in New York and based in Los Angeles, John Sonsini (b.1950) paints primarily in oils and is renowned for his portraits of knit-browed, sincere-faced immigrant workers as well as works based on gay male erotica. Using paint to bestow dignity, Sonsini invites his sitters to sign their name on the back of each canvas, furthering the artist’s insistence that each painting features an individual with a story as unique as their own handwriting.
Recent exhibitions: With a rising auction market and representation by Miles McEnery Gallery in New York, Sonsini was recently included in the National Portrait Gallery’s 2018 exhibition, The Sweat of Their Face: Portraying American Workers propelling him to the forefront of inventive, incisive contemporary painting.