Over the past twenty-five years, John Garrett has worked simultaneously with two and three-dimensional formats to create his textile forms with a variety of materials.  Visually unpredictable, a piece might be woven, wrapped, plaited, riveted, painted, rusted, twined, nailed, stitched or tied. The materials used could be nails, buttons, washers, corks, plastic flowers, painted aluminum, copper, corn husks, bed springs and even plastic curlers. Each work of art is a meticulously crafted, energetic and complex structure. He moves gracefully from constructing wall pieces to baskets, breathing new life into discarded objects.  Currently a full time studio artist, he teaches workshops on creativity and experimental basketry at schools nationwide.  He was awarded National Endowment for the Arts fellowships in 1983 and 1995.

Selected Museum Collections
Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, NM
American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Arkansas Museum of Art, Little Rock, AR
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
Erie Museum, Erie, PA
High Museum, Atlanta, GA
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Museum of California, Oakland, CA
Museum of International Fold Art, Santa Fe, NM
Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, OK
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC

Selected Exhibitions 1980-present
9th International Triennial of Tapestry, Central Museum of Textiles, Lodz, Poland
Art And/Or Craft: USA and Japan, Kanazawa, Japan
Art of Albuquerque, Albuquerque Museum, NM
Baskets Now: USA, Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Craft Today USA, Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, France
Explorations:  The Aesthetic of Excess, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Fiber R/Evolution, Milwaukee Art Museum, WI
John Garret Retrospective, Oceanside Museum of Art, CA
The Artful Teapot: 20th Century Expressions from the Kamm Collection: COPIA, Napa, CA; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, AL; George R. Gardiner Museum, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Long Beach Museum of Art, CA, Chicago Cultural Center, IL; Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC
Subversive Crafts, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA
Transformations:  Recycled Materials in American Art and Design, Whatcom Museum, Bellingham, WA
USA-Today, Netherlands Textile Museum, Tilburg, The Netherlands
Vehta Biennale, Romaanse Kerk, Brussels, Belgium