John Sonsini Rome, New York, b. 1942

He lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Sonsini studied at California State University, he earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 1975. His paintings are mainly oil on canvas.

His work is best known for his expressionistic portraits of Hispanic day laborers. He hires the models from Los Angeles work sites, whom he paid their usual hourly wages to pose in his studio. Sonsini's subjects are often placed against a glowing pastel abstract empty background that provokes an interesting play between masculinity and vulnerability. He has also done work based on gay male erotica.

His work may be found in the major public collections such as Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco; The Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington; The Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, among others. Sonsini has had numerous solo exhibitions in The United States, including Patrick Painter Gallery, Los Angeles; Emerson Gallery, Clinton; ACME Gallery, Los Angeles; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. He has participated in countless group exhibitions, most notably at the Whitney Museum of American, New York, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco.