Jonathan Wagner recieved his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, School of the Arts in the area of Painting and Printmaking. For the past several years Jonathan has launched JP Wagner Fine Art studios located in Northern NJ. he independently organized and promoted many solo shows and a series of group showings of his paintings in association with artists of a variety of mediums in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. Most recently are a series of exhibitions in Times Sqare correlation with the start of Tminusone.org, a non-profit organization that Jonathan co-founded used to promote emerging artist, musicians, and a variety of other talent to various galleries and nightclubs through-out NYC and NJ.
Jonathan focuses his artistic talents on the study of faces, where he finds that people are able to see reflections of themselves in the expressions shown in his art. He searches out the alternate venues such as non-profit organizations, night clubs, coffee houses, and musical performances to bring his art to a vast array of different audiences.
My artwork takes the essential perspective of analyzing expressions through a variety of media, focusing largely on faces, that most focal point on the body where the mind, body and soul intersect. It gives the person identity, bringing together multiple facets of sense and situation in order create a collective depiction of their experiences and sentiments. Devising pieces which are evidently dynamic- where when viewed, have the appearance of change imminent within their lines- is challenging, but this is where the best work is tested, and created. Artwork is not meant to depict static environments; life is not static, so when focal points need to be brought to life on the lithograph and canvas, the content of the image must be organized in a way that contrasts between light and dark best match the subject itself.
In order to deconstruct a style, one needs to look at all the teachers and sources of inspiration an artist has drawn from over the course of their career. I have learned from professionals and amateurs in pottery, sculpting, lithograph, sketching, ink design, and mixed media projects, but have also had the benefit of spending years writing lyrics, composing, producing, as well as studying philosophy, history, and business. This has culminated in creating a more complete scope which allows me as the creator to more fully encapsulate human expression within the borders of my canvas, with some pieces being indexed by math or science in tangent to the humanity inherent within.
Weaving together pieces which attempt to include so much life and emotion within a confined space is challenging, and maintaining the original scope of the commissioning or inspiring source while attempting to incorporate something fresh requires time and patience. In order to build on these traits, I spent time at a behavioral institute, working on designing an art curriculum for students whose only canvas had ever been a graffiti-embossed wall. Building curriculum and teaching allows one to closely examine one’s subject, and repeatedly compulses procedural design and examination of microprocesses all too crucial to making emotions jump off the medium.
The remarkable aspect of painting faces is that there are so many fundamental elements of art which must be deconstructed and understood in order to put together everything in a way that makes the piece complete. Selecting the right materials for each piece which match the medium, employing technique that allows for optimal use of colors, textures, and layout, and selecting a subject which will be complemented by all elements being put into the piece- all these things must come together in just the right way when preparing to create. When all the correct components have been organized, however, the artist is permitted the latitude to ask larger questions of the theme, subject, and organization of the piece; the freedom to challenge the expectation of the piece, and explore visages uncharted. Experimenting with vision in this way can result in the creation of faces and pieces which challenge pre-existing standards, but also the modern definition of emotion itself. While facial expressions are universal, how do we define what one individual’s interpretations are as measured against another’s? It’s such a short time that we are here on this Earth; to not leave a mark, as we continue to evaluate and engage our own humanity, is a travesty.
