In 1962 he graduated with honours from the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts where he was taught by Tom Taylor and Eric Doudney among others.
In 1972 he was selected for the major exhibition British Sculptors '72, curated by Bryan Kneale and shown at the Royal Academy.
Here Panting was placed alongside leading artists of the time such as Kenneth Armitage, Barry Flanagan, Philip King and Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi.
[13] In 1975, a year after his death, the Serpentine Galleries mounted the survey exhibition John Panting 1940–74[14] with a catalogue published by the Arts Council of Great Britain.
[16] Panting was reintroduced to the public in 2005 by the Poussin Gallery established by the British painter Robin Greenwood in London.