About

John Mahoney’s artistic career began at age five under his mother’s sewing table, when he started making collages with fabric scraps and Sobo glue. After locking horns with his art teacher in high school, he went instead to night school to learn to draw. Then at Amherst College he majored in Fine Arts, in spite of getting kicked out of Painting 101 for making abstract work.

After moving to New York, he worked at the Guggenheim Museum and ARTS Magazine, while building a diverse portfolio of artworks in many media. His works were included in various solo and group shows, and by 1998 he was known for a broad range of colorful, graphic works inspired by Japanese power tools. His media have included paintings on silk, wall murals, illuminated stencils, T-shirts, stickers, video, fiber optics, and carved carpets. His annual artist’s edition, The Ms. Makita Calendar, is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art.

The Japanese concept of art as integral to life inspires John to create applied artworks that are meant to be lived with — not just looked at. In 2002 he broke free of the gallery world and founded John Mahoney Designs.  The mission of his company is to design outstanding works of decorative art that bring beauty and joy to our environments and leave a legacy of visual delight for generations to come.