Jonathan Edelhuber
b. 1984, United States
Edelhuber’s work is steeped in culture and art history, but also lends itself to pop culture. From his iconic paintings of skulls to his instantly recognizable still life paintings and sculptures, he continues along a path set by a rich lineage of artists who came before him. Occasionally branching off to explore new ideas, his paintings add a voice to this narrative and mark a certain point in this timeline. While he works with a large range of media and subjects, his process creates a cohesion between series. Line, colour, and texture become the muse and bolster this language of painting he procures. Having lived in the South his whole life, much of his inspiration is drawn from the surfaces that abound throughout the towns and cities there. These textures from a lost vernacular become a main ingredient in his work.
In short, his skull paintings are a statement on life, what it is to live, and what it is to be human. The skull is the substrate on which the soul is adhered. Our substrates are the same, but we’re wildly different and beautiful beings. These paintings show this through his embrace of line, colour, and texture. The viewer can see his still life paintings as just that, but Edelhuber asks for something deeper. A curation occurs within each painting. The books used are intimately connected to each other and to the subject on top, which is viewed as a sculpture in these still life set-ups. Each artist, whether from the past or contemporary, has a connection that is beautifully played out in each painting. This might not be evident upon first glance, but more can be gleaned if the viewer is willing to search.
JONATHAN EDELHUBER (b. 1984, Arkansas, USA) lives and works in Clarksville, Tennessee, USA. He graduated from Harding University in 2007.
Solo exhibitions include: Warmer Mornings Sharper Nights, Over The Influence, Los Angeles, USA (2023); Arkansas Eyes (Works on Paper), Ampersand Gallery PDX, Portland, USA (2023); Feeding The Beast, NBB Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2023); Platform (online show), Zieher Smith in Partnership with David Zwirner Gallery (2023); The Collector’s Library, Hey There Projects, Joshua Tree, USA (2023); Zieher Smith Pop-Up, New York City, USA (2022); Something Old, Something New, Over The Influence, Hong Kong (2022); Untitled, Nassima Landau, Tel Aviv, Israel (2022); and A Selection of New Paintings and Sculptures, Fabien Fryns Fine Art, Dubai (2022).
Group exhibitions include: Twice Upon A Time, Akrilyc, London, UK and Brussels, Belgium (2023); Jonathan Squared, Marvin Gardens, New York City, USA (2023); Post-It Show, Giant Robot, Los Angeles, USA (2023); paper., BEERS London, London, UK (2022); Art of The Present Future, Madrid, Spain (2022); and Spray Painterly, Allouche Gallery, New York City, USA (2022).
Art Fairs include: Art Miami, Allouche Gallery, Miami (2023); Art Central, Over The Influence, Hong Kong (2022); Untitled Art Fair, Zieher Smith Gallery, Miami (2021).