John U. Abrahamson
Born into a blue collar, working-class suburb of Chicago in 1962, Abrahamson was introduced to religion at a very young age. He quickly became a devoted member of the church, thus acquiring the religious visual vocabulary that would later play so heavily in his work.
Abrahamson began drawing at the age of 15 as a way to entertain himself while on extensive travels with his father and sister. This marked the first time he explored the fertile ground of his imagination by creating fantastic worlds with pencil and paper. Upon high school graduation, Abrahamson was accepted into the Art Institute of Chicago–a dark and tragic period on both a personal and professional level.
Over the next decade, while he crisscrossed the country, Abrahamson’s work reflected a creative and individual journey, which would serve to influence his future works. These artistic inspirations include: his religious upbringing, his first wife’s physical disability, and the urban decay of Chicago’s neighborhoods.
Currently residing in the Bay Area, Abrahamson’s work appears in galleries and museums internationally, including The Museum of Erotica in Barcelona, where it is part of the permanent collection. Among collectors of his work is Steven Pieczenick (Deputy Assistant Security of State under Henry Kissinger, Cyrus Vance and James Baker).
