Artist Bio
John Charles is a photographer and visual artist with roots in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago. He has worked with organizations such as AMC Network, Grammy's/MusiCares, Alice Cooper's Solid Rock Teen Center, House Of Blues/Music Forward Foundation, Malibu Guitar Festival & Ronnie James Dio's Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund. John Charles has been featured at the ARVLFC, Barnsdall Art Park, DADA, Forgotten Saints, Hyaena Gallery, Hive Gallery, & Lethal Amounts. His work has been seen on TV, published in periodicals, used for band publicity, merchandising, and as record album/DVD cover art. His original fine art resides in private collections internationally and his photos have been auctioned to help many worthy charitable causes.
Quotes About John Charles
"Mr. kick-in-the-teeth... the work you do and folks you surround yourself are unabashed and unapologetic. You play with devils and demons in a way (that I am guessing) many admire and many more fear." -Stacey Ransom
“Razor sharp and precisely composed, his portraits evoke the exquisite stillness in the eye of the storm. Though he is inspired by their work and they feature heavily in his, John Charles does not worship the rock star as an elevated lifeform. Rather, their personas and postures become one way through which he exalts the human condition. He treats all of his subjects, whether they are performers at the height of their careers, misfit friends or unknown passersby, with compassion, curiosity and reverence.” -Dahlia Jane (Upon A Midnight Dreary)
“It's like if you were to take paintings of bright, shiny, colorful, insipid people and then piss vinegar all over them until their colors faded and their flesh withered and greyed. And with that vacuous gaudiness washed away all that was left were brutal specters of raw insight who actually had something to say.” -Geoffrey Ulrich
“John Charles, given that at your tender age you are already so far at the top of your artistic field that you defy gravity (the Ansel Adams of the underworld), the word ‘visionary’ doesn’t merely define you, but rather you define it. Bears mentioning that a hint of narcissism combined with intelligence and dry wit makes for a potent intoxicant.” -Sarah Reed Farmer
"John Charles' art takes me to a dark and haunted place, the darkness embraces me and it is beautiful." -Alma Perez Aburto
"Disturbed... pretty deeply too." -Quintin Basques
"A gallery of the macabre has never been so inviting." -Duane Owen Brayboy-Williams
"Just a ball of fine talent!" -Trista Mast-Petrie
"John Charles? ...what a load of bollocks!" -Dave Gothard