John Roy

John Roy was born in 1930 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He studied at Yale University School of Art and Design, where he earned both his BFA and MFA, studying under Josef Albers. In 1964, he joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he taught painting and drawing for three decades. Roy was a close friend of artists Chuck Close, Hanlyn Davies, and John Townsend, and continued to live and work in Amherst after retiring from teaching in 1994.

Roy’s practice centered on systems, observation, and color. Influenced by Josef Albers’ teachings on color theory, he moved fluidly between photorealism and pointillism, often working from scanned or computer-based images. These sources were translated into hand-painted grids that echo pixel structures, placing color and light at the forefront. His process reflects a deep interest in how visual information shifts across media, from photograph to offset print to painting, achieving clarity through repetition, subtle variation, and precise control. 

In the 1970s and 80s, he began working with offset lithography and experimented with digital tools and light-based sculpture. His work was exhibited internationally and is part of the collections at the Museum of Modern Art, the Rose Art Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield, and others. He received awards and support from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Roy passed away in 2001.