“A Sterling World”, created for the Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center, is recognized as one of 25 award winning “Art projects that were created for the purpose of bringing about social change, or to raise awareness about key issues facing society.” CODAmagazine, July, 2019. Click here to read.
John Randall Nelson’s giant rabbit has finally gone up in Scottsdale. The 26-foot-tall sculpture was installed on the northwest corner of Indian School Road and Marshall Way on Wednesday, September 19. Titled One-Eyed Jack, it comprises a white rabbit sitting on its haunches, with both ears jutting up towards the sky. Lynn Trimble. Click here to read.
“A soaring, 35-foot-tall depiction of a beloved city councilman, 1970-78, and mayor, 1978-1994, as a stilt walker. Creator John Randall Nelson intended the exaggerated dimensions of “Harry Above the Crowd” to represent Harry Mitchell’s “heightened sense of potential, performance and accomplishment.” Coincidentally, live stilt walkers regularly stroll the city’s Mill Avenue during spring and fall Tempe Festival of the Arts.” Lisa Polacheck, Where Magazine, 2015
Click here to read.
“Creating wood figures, some 14 feet high, the Tempe artist draws on the power of American Folk Art.”
Amy Abrams. Click here to read.
Q: If you look really closely, you can see words on the sculptures. What are those? A: They are screen-printed affirmations … each sculpture has its own affirmation, such as “Really amazing,” “Everything will be okay,” “Everything here is wonderful.” Click here to read.
“These two works (one 2-d and one 3-d) conjure iconic folk art forms and imagery that touch on the sectarian and socially mish-mashed nature of the Arizona experience.” Click here to view exhibition.
(A Public Art Project by John Randall Nelson and Joe Willie Smith). Fabricated steel fences, gates, cast concrete posts and shade structures. Sited at Matthew Henson HOPE VI Housing Project, Phoenix, AZ. 2013. “Fifty-two sculptural finials with fifty-two unique concrete posts combine to effect jarringly comical juxtapositions of objects and form. Spinning whirligigs and rustic weathervanes create an overall art garden environment that stands like a symbol of locality and remembrance.” Click here to read.