A sculptor and art educator, John Newman is known for his large-scale installations, many of them in outdoor settings such as at the General Mills Outdoor Sculpture Park in Minnespolis; the Department of Transportation in Washington DC; and the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York.

In a 2005 exhibition catalogue of Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery in Lincoln, Nebraska, Janice Dreisbach, Gallery Director, wrote that many of his works are "intimate tabletop objects that consist of surrealistic and bio-morphic shapes and forms made of fragile materials, such as glass, papier mache, gilded paper and terra cotta. Their small scale, graceful curves, vibrant colors, and complex and diverse textures give them an i...