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John Fraser

"JOHN FRASER's new mixed-media collages at the Roy Boyd Gallery are among the finest works Chicago artists have to offer. They have strength of geometry, subtlety of color, exquisiteness of balance and, ever now and then, the gift of surprise.
At the core of the work are book covers and spines detached from their pages. The subject matter, content and nature of the books have not mattered. Important are the shades of ivory colored end papers plus remnants of glue and thread inside the spines. All this Fraser adjusts in relation to various kinds of measuring sticks and, in one instance, the scroll of a violin.
The two largest pieces, almost 54 inches square, are commanding, though they still speak softly, sometimes at the threshold of audibility. The title of the exhibition, "More and Less," could well refer to them. But there also are more small-framed collages that I recall seeing before, and these have fewer components than Fraser's reliefs yet show no diminution of formal power.
The coldness some feel is inherent in abstract geometric art is entirely absent here. For anyone who looks closely, taking enough time for real scrutiny and noticing even the patterns caused by staples, there is a warmth and glow I find irresistible." Alan Artner, Friday, September 12, 2008

"...Here the intensity of Fraser's process is diffused into a kind of meditative vibration that comes to the surface the longer one spends with each piece. Like the Fraser collages from endpapers of books, however, a tremendous amount of feeling is atomized into abstract, outwardly simple forms, giving a depth of pleasure that recalls the modern period because it's now uncommon in most contemporary art." Alan Artner,  Friday, December 7, 2001