John McDevitt

"I express myself most naturally through sculpture. As I work, I am not forced to think about what words to use or what you might think about me. I allow myself to communicate with form, material, color…texture. Simplicity, tension, death, life. Sculpture provides me the opening I need to further connect."
-John McDevitt

When John McDevitt finished graduate school, he went to work as a package designer for companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and Kraft Foods, accumulating numerous patents and helping them develop products. Twenty-three years elapsed before he was ready for a career change, and he decided to become a professional artist.

Once McDevitt dedicated himself full-time to sculpture, his earliest works took the form of folk art wood carving. From there, he began to explore other mediums, including stone, steel, and bronze, steel being his current material of choice. One of McDevitt’s primary goals as a sculptor is to express himself and connect with others in a non-linguistic manner. He also intends his art to be interactive, encouraging viewers to “touch, spin, and pick up” his work. For McDevitt, art should be both visually and tangibly engaging, appealing to more than simply one’s sense of sight. McDevitt identifies three major sources of inspiration for his art: contemporary world events, aikido (a Japanese form of self-defense in which he is well-practiced), and stories of human struggle.

John McDevitt has exhibited at a wide range of local venues, including the Grounds for Sculpture Member Exhibition in Hamilton, NJ, the New Hope Annual National Juried Sculpture show in New Hope, PA, and the Annual Phillips' Mill Art Exhibition in Solebury, PA.

Education and Training
Bachelor of Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, 1985
Master’s in Engineering Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 1997

Affiliations, Memberships, Schools
Board of Directors, Arts and Cultural Council of Bucks County

Connection to Bucks County
McDevitt moved to Solebury Township, PA from Shanghai in 1999 while he was working for the Strategic Design Department of Johnson & Johnson. He was attracted to Bucks County because of its "natural beauty, artistic history, and vibrant community" and now owns a studio in New Hope, PA. McDevitt has also participated in the 2008 and 2009 Elephant’s Eye Studio Tours, first as a visiting artist and later as a featured artist.

Major Exhibitions
Echo Lake XI and XII Collaborative Sculpture Workshop, 2009-2010
3rd Annual Elephant's Eye Studio Tour, Featured Artist, Bucks County, PA, 2010
Art of the State: Pennsylvania 2010, Harrisburg, PA, 2010
Grounds for Sculpture Member Exhibition, Hamilton, NJ, 2010
6th, 7th, and 8th Annual National Juried Sculpture New Hope, New Hope, PA, 2008-2010
Amnesty International Art Festival, Washington, D.C., 2010
Bucks County Art: In Living Color, Doylestown, PA, 2010
70th Annual Juried Exhbition, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA, 2010
Bucks County Gallery of Fine Art Juried Sculpture Showcase, New Hope, PA, 2009
32nd Annual Bucks County Sculpture Show, Doylestown, PA, 2009
TransFORMation, Newtown, PA, 2009
New Hope Arts Summer Select, New Hope, PA, 2009
8th Annual Buckingham Valley Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, Buckingham, PA, 2009
Bucks Fever Artists' Studio Tour, 2009
2nd Annual Elephant's Eye Studio Tour, Visiting Artist, Bucks County, PA, 2009
78th, 79th, and 80th Annual Phillips' Mill Art Exhibition, New Hope, PA, 2007-2009
7th Annual Buckingham Valley Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit, Buckingham, PA, 2008
Bucks County Community College Student Show, Newtown, PA, 2007 and 2008
Bucks County Community College Student Faculty Exhibition, New Hope, PA, 2007

Major Awards
3rd Place in Bucks County Gallery of Fine Art Juried Sculpture Showcase, 2009
Invitation to Echo Lake XI Collaborative Sculpture Workshop, 2009
Award in Celebration of the People of New Orleans, presented by Kathy Schroeher & Jim Clare, 2008
Bucks County Community College Award for Sculpture, 2008
Echo Lake X Best in Show, 2008

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Director of Education for Elephant’s Eye Artist Studio Tour