John Wesley has created an unrelenting and remarkably singular body of work whose subject is no less than the American psyche. While many artists of his generation have used the popular image to explore the cultural landscape, Wesley has employed a comic strip-style and a compositional rigor to make deeply personal, often hermetic paintings that strike at the core of our most primal fears, joys, and desires. His work is included in numerous Museum collections, and has been the subject of recent one-person exhibitions at PS1/MoMA, Fogg Art Museum, Stedlijk Museum, DAAD, Portikus, and The Museen Haus Lange, Krefeld, Germany. A permanent collection of his work is installed at the Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas. He was the 2005 recipient of the Skowhegan Medal for Artistic Achievement in Painting.

Wesley's new exhibition, The Bumsteads, is on view at Fredericks & Freiser (504 W 22nd St, 212.633.6555) from Fri 12.15 - Sat 2.3.06 (Tue-Fri: 11am-6pm).

Check out other Flavorpill cover designs this week in SF, CHI, LA, LDN, and MIAMI.