Jan Anders Nelson

Jan Anders Nelson is a classically trained artist working in a variety of mediums and subjects, based in the Northwestern United States.

Earning a Master of Arts from the University of Wisconsin in 1977, Jan also spent time living in New York City attending New York University, working on a series of drawings under the mentorship of fellow artist and friend Don Eddy.

Jan's artwork has been described variously as hyperrealism, photorealism, or precisionism, though he prefers contemporary realism. This multidisciplinary artist captures the narratives and realities of the people and places in his life. Using his camera as a sketchbook, Nelson often relies on multiple photographs to help answer queries that arise in the studio. While his paintings and drawings are created using more traditional methods, his digital photography is oftentimes manipulated in photoshop and reworked by hand.

"I think of my art as a time-based storyboard that describes the arc of my life"

Jan’s work has been exhibited at several museums, including the Minnesota Museum of Art, Joslyn Museum of Art, Appleton Museum of Art, Knoxville Museum of Art, New Hampshire Institute of Art, Grand Palais in Paris, Coupelouzos Museum in Athens, and the European Museum o...

1976 - 1977 New York University, Graduate Independent Study
1974 - 1977 University of Wisconsin, Master of Art
1970 -1974 Midland Lutheran College, Bachelor of Art

25th Aniversario Galería Artelibre - May - September 2024
European Museum of Modern Art
Barcelona, Spain

14h Annual CVG Exhibit, 2021
Collective Visions Gallery
Bremerton, Washington

"Time Capsule", 2021
Pacific NW Photography Center
24th Annual Juried Exhibition
Seattle, Washington

"Americana", 2021
33 Contemporary Gallery
Chicago, Illinois

13th Annual CVG Exhibit, 2020
Collective Visions Gallery
Bremerton, Washington

39th Annual National Juried Exhibition: "A Sense of Place"
Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art
Augusta, Georgia

"2019 Annual Opening Exhibition in Photography"
Salmagundi Club
New York, N.Y.

"26th Annual Martime Art Exhibit"
Coos Art Museum
Coos Bay, Oregon 2019
Honorable Mention

"Works on Paper"
Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences
Loveladies, New Jersey 2019

"Men of Steel"
Nicole Longnecker Gallery
Houston, Texas 2019

"20 años, en 20x20"
Galería Artelibre - European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM)
Zaragoza - Barcelona 2019
Spain

"Art on Paper"
Site:Brooklyn Gallery
Brooklyn, New York

"Ink + Print: West Coast Juried Printmaking Exhibition"
Coos Art Museum
Coos Bay, Oregon

"Black & White", 2018
311 Gallery
Raleigh, North Carolina

"The Wills Creek Exhibition 2018"
Allegan...