John Carroll

TRAVEL
I was born in Misawa, Japan; living there for the first few years of my life. We then moved to Europe. Art started to makes its impression on me while we lived in Italy. We traveled to cities such as Florence, Venice, and Rome. My father had made friends in these areas and we were constantly visiting them. They would proudly show my father and I the culture, architecture and art of their cities. Those years were the years that influenced me the most as far as relating to art. When my father retired, we moved to Reno, Nevada. Living in the United States, a new chapter started.

MARTIAL ARTS
I started taking martial arts. My instructor, the O'Bosan would always talk about the discipline of body and mind working together in harmony; I completely took to the concept and excelled in martial arts at that time. I learned basic moves, repeating them over and over in practices that lasted hours. The extreme discipline and self control that was stressed to me during those years is applied to how I execute my projects today.

DESIGN
I learned about antiques while working for an antique auction house in Reno, NV. This was when and where I learned the importance of display and the basic history of vintage and mid century antiquities. One of my responsibilities was setting up a 10,000 square foot building for shows and auctions every month, this taught me the value of display first hand.

I then moved to the Palm Springs area where I was introduced to the fine arts and the gallery scene. I started working with a prominent gallery in Palm Desert as an art director. This experience introduced me to designers, high end clientele and fine artists. It was a new and exciting world to me. Working closely with designers developed my eye for in home art installation. After years of working in the gallery, I transitioned to the hands on side of the business; which led me to where I am now...being an artist.

Jake Dent Gallery