Jonathan Smith

Jonathan Smith creates abstract paintings based on maps and satellite images of the land. Enamored with maps, atlases, and Landsat photography from an early age, his first foray with map imagery was in the late 1980’s when in graduate school. In his most recent map abstraction series, The Look of Our Land, he has developed his work almost exclusively employing a technique that fuses two separate map images – one on thin rice paper that becomes transparent when fused, the other on a heavier surface (wood panel or heavy stock paper). He then continues to develop these images using thin, transparent layers of color (glazes) to create a glass or jewel-like effect. Diagonals and curves cut through the patchwork of color as the foundation for the overall compositions.

Jonathan hails from the Boston, Massachusetts, USA region, and has been teaching painting, printmaking, and figure drawing at an independent high school for the last 35 years. This is his first international residency; his previous residency in 2018 was located in southern California.

Jonathan received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the University of New Hampshire, and his Master of Fine Arts degree at City University of New York, Brooklyn College.

His studio resides at the Umbrella Center for the Arts in Concord, Massachusetts.