Academe Pugh Mural

ACADEME
John Pugh
Academe, his first major work as a muralist, was completed in 1981 on the east side of Taylor Hall on the Chico State campus while he was still a student. This signature piece launched his career and established his reputation as a master of the so-called tromp l’oeil (fool the eye) style of mural composition and technique.

ABOUT
John Pugh
Born 1957, in Illinois.  Raised in northern California. Received his BA degree in Art from California State University, Chico, 1983. Academe, his first major work as a muralist, was completed in 1981 on the east side of Taylor Hall on the Chico State campus while he was still a student.  This signature piece launched his career and established his reputation as a master of the so-called tromp l’oeil (fool the eye) style of mural composition and technique. He has since completed over 250 public murals located in nearly as many cities, including, in California, Sacramento, San Francisco, Palo Alto, Los Gatos, Fremont, San Jose, Bishop, Tehachapi, Twentynine Palms, Pacific Palisades, Santa Cruz, Burlingame, Grass Valley, Madera, Merced, Dublin, Mountain View, Hayward, Santa Clara, Victorville, South San Francisco, and Palm Desert. Outside of California, Pugh’s public murals can be seen in Anchorage, Honolulu, New York, Miami, Phoenix, Denver, Boise, Fairbanks (AK), Dayton (NV), Syracuse (NY), Gatlinburg (TN), Sarasota (FL), Jacksonville (FL), Jacksonville (OR), and Winslow (AZ), Outside the United States, Pugh’s public murals are located in Calgary, Rotorua (New Zealand), and Taipei (Taiwan).

Received Chico State’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2003, on the twentieth anniversary of his graduation.

Named Master Muralist, Precita Eyes Mural Art Center in San Francisco.

Named Most Successful Mural Artist at California Mural Symposium, 2003.

Pugh owns two studios in California where he does most of his work: in Los Gatos and Truckee.