Jon Wos was born in Lena, Wisconsin in 1981. He was diagnosed at birth with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a congenital condition that is manifested by weak bones, leaving people who have it very susceptible to fractures. Though this condition limited his physical ability, it heightened his sensitivity to the world around him, and, out of his love of creation, Jon began drawing as a very young child. His artistic expression blossomed as he grew older, and by the age of 11, he was painting with oils. At 16, he started working with glass.
When Jon was a sophomore in college, he won a $10,000 grand prize in a national competition for disabled artists. In 2005, Jon graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, receiving a Bachelor
of Fine Arts with an emphasis in drawing, painting, and sculpture.
Mr. Wos has exhibited his various pieces of artwork throughout North America, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., the Chicago Cultural Center, and the Joseph D.
Carrier Gallery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In addition, Mr. Wos’s work is held in such public collections as the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and Ripon College in Wisconsin, and MacMurray
College in Illinois.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2010 “A Changing View,” University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
“A Changing View,” Windhover Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
“A Changing View,” Edgewood College, Madison, Wisconsin.
2006 “Reason Found,” Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2017 Featured Artist; Secura Fine Art Exhibition, The Trout Museum of Art,
Appleton, Wisconsin.
2016 Richeson 75 International Art Competitions: Figure Portrait 2016, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin. Juried by William Schneider
2011 Richeson 75 International Art Competitions: Figure Portrait 2011, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin. Juried by Everett Raymond Kinstler.
Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Juried by Dennis Wojtkiewicz
Shift, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. Juried by Georg Burwick, Jayme McClellan, and Simon McKeown.
East Meets West, Murphy Hill Gallery, Chicago, Illinois, Invitational.
Artists of the NEW North, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wisconsin. Juried by Michael Flanagan and Bruce Grudzinski.
2010 Richeson 75 International Art Competitions: Figure Portrait 2010, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin. Juried by Tony Pro.
2009 University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Alumni Exhibition, Gail Floether Steinhilber Art Gallery, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Juried.
2008 eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Moscone Center West, San Francisco, California, and Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois.
Seven County Artist Juried Exhibition, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wisconsin, Juried by Gary John Gresl.
Selections from the 7th National Sunnyview Exhibition for artists with Disabilities, Nott Memorial, Union college, Schenectady, New York, Invitational.
2007 7th National Acquisitions Exhibition for Artists with Disabilities, Sunnyview Rehabilitation Hospital, Schenectady, New York, Juried by Tim Cahill, Ginger Ertz, and Jim Richard Wilson.
Forward: A Survey of Wisconsin Art Now, Charles Allis Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Juried by Siri Engberg.
2006 Transformation, Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. Juried.
Humans Being: Disability in Contemporary Art, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois. Invitational.
Emerging Artist Exhibition, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, California. Juried.
2004 VSA International Festival, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Gallaudet University, National Press Club, Washington D.C. Juried.
2003 Road Trip: a journey of discovery, Traveling Exhibition by VSA Arts & Volkswagen of America, Washington D.C. 2003
Selected Honors and Awards
Honorable Mention. Richeson 75 International Art Competitions: Figure Portrait 2017, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin. 2017.
Best of Show of
$400. Art in the Garden, Hilton Garden Inn, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 2016 and
2017.
Special Artistic Award of Merit. EveryLife Foundation’s 2016 Rare Artist Contest. Online. 2017.
Best of Show of $1,000. Secura Fine Art Exhibition, The Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, Wisconsin. 2016.
Best of Show of $400. Art in the Garden, Hilton Garden Inn, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 2013.
Best of Show of $150. From Farm to Plate, The Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, Wisconsin. 2012.
Best of Show of $400. Art in the Garden, Hilton Garden Inn, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 2012.
Second Place of $200. Secura Fine Art Exhibition, Secura Insurance, Appleton, Wisconsin. 2011.
Best of Show of $3,000. Richeson 75 International Art Competitions: Figure Portrait 2010, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin. 2010.
People’s Choice Award. Richeson 75 International Art Competitions: Figure Portrait 2009, Richeson School of Art & Gallery, Kimberly, Wisconsin. 2009.
Excellence Award of $1,000. Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College Art Gallery, Rhinelander, Wisconsin. 2009.
Best of Show of $500. Art in the Garden, Hilton Garden Inn, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 2009.
Best of Show of $2,500. eMotion Pictures: An Exhibition of Orthopaedics in Art, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Moscone Center West, San Francisco, California. 2008.
Excellence Award of $1,000. Seven County Artist Juried Exhibition, Bergstrom-Mahler Museum, Neenah, Wisconsin. 2008.
Purchase Award of $500. VSA Arts Adult Art Collection, VSA Arts of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 2006 and 2007.
First place. Two-Dimensional. Reeve Union student art contest, Reeve Union, University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 2004.
Grand prize of $10,000. Road Trip: a journey of discovery, VSA Arts & Volkswagen of America, Washington D.C. 2003.
Artist Residencies
Washington Middle School, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin. 2009.
Oshkosh East High School, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. 2009.
Oconto Falls Elementary School, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin. 2009.
Oconto Falls Elementary School, Oconto Falls, Wisconsin. 2008.
Education
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, B.F.A.
Emphasis: Drawing, Sculpture, Painting,