John W. Pugh | |
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![]() John Pugh with fiancée Annie (February 2011) | |
Born | |
Nationality | American |
Education | B.A. in Art (painting emphasis) 1983, California State University, Chico |
Occupation | Mural Artist |
Known for | Trompe-l'œil Murals, Paintings |
Style | trompe-l'œil |
Awards | Distinguished Alumni Chico State 2003, Master Mural artist award (Precita Eyes Mural Center) San Francisco, CA 2006 |
John Pugh (born 1957) is an American artist known for creating large trompe-l'œil wall murals giving the illusion of a three-dimensional scene behind the wall. Pugh has been creating his murals since the late 1970s. He attended California State University Chico, receiving his BA in 1983 and the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003. He has received over 250 public and private commissions[clarification needed] in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Barbados, Japan, Taiwan, and New Zealand. He currently lives and works in Ashland, Oregon . His particular style of trompe-l'œil painting has been called "Narrative Illusionism."
His works have been described as "not merely ornamental or curiously clever. They are thought-provoking, substantial, and sometimes even philosophical or spiritual. What separates the murals of John Pugh from their less consequential cousins is that he goes beyond trompe l’oeil by combining techniques of illusion with narrative or conceptual elements and thereby not only “fools the eye” but captures the imagination and engages the mind as well."[1]