Biography

John Romi

Founder of The Cuneiformism Art Style

John Romi is a Swedish-American artist whose abstract compositions reinterpret ancient symbolic systems through geometric precision and emotional architecture. In 2004, he formalized Cuneiformism—his signature visual philosophy—establishing a conceptual framework that bridges abstraction, cultural memory, and structured form.

Romi’s work draws deeply from the visual logic of Sumerian, Egyptian, and Mesoamerican civilizations, with a predominant focus on Akkadian script, the wedge-shaped language of the ancient world. He reimagines these systems not as codes, but as meditative compositions that restore emotional balance and evoke historical continuity. His canvases layer glyphic structures over pure color fields, transforming archaic forms into rhythmic geometries and contemplative spaces.

With a background in engineering, computer science, graphic arts, and multimedia from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, Romi merges academic rigor with artistic nuance. His works are constructed with deliberate texture, palette knife techniques, and precise spatial logic—composed to generate both visual clarity and symbolic depth.

Romi’s practice has been informed by collaborations with leading scholars in ancient scripts and semiotics. Every painting offers unified conceptual intent while leaving space for personal interpretation—inviting the viewer into a dialogue between the present and the distant past.

Romi’s art has been exhibited internationally, including the Masur Museum of Art (Invitation to Exhibit, 2024), Sasse Museum of Art (Invitation to Exhibit, 2023-2024), James May Gallery - Art of Water (2024), Avanti Art Gallery - Solo Exhibition (2024), Rome International Art Fair (2023) (Rome, Italy), and NYC Phoenix Art - Invitational Solo Exhibition (2023), among others. His practice is informed by a background in engineering, computer science, and graphic arts, resulting in works that are as structurally precise as they are emotionally resonant.

Romi and his work have been featured in publications including Create! Magazine Issue 45 (2024), Voyage LA (2023), Muse Daily (2022), and exhibition/catalog projects such as CUNEIFORMISM (EA Art Gallery, 2020).

 Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)

Education

• 2022 - Art Business, Sotheby's Institute of Art
• 2004 - Academic Certificate of Fine Arts, Ancient Art, History, and Beyond, (Freedom Learning Studio) Ferndale, MI 
• 2003 - Masters of Science in Engineering, Computer Science, Graphic Arts and Multimedia. The Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden
• 2001 - Academic Certificate of Fine Arts, ABF Stockholm, Sweden