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Jonathan Green
Southern Images of Faith, Family and Friends:
The
Art of Jonathan Green
Exhibition Introduction
Jonathan Green Biography
Jonathan Green Interview
Jonathan Green Artist's
Statement
Jonathan Green sees homecoming in Myrtle Beach exhibit
Myrtle Beach, SC - Artist Jonathan Green views his current exhibition at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum as a homecoming.
"It's a collection of work
owned by Carolinians. Seldom do you get that kind of support from your home
place, and the fact that I've received that over the years, that the museum can
pull together a collection like this from all over the state, that's very
meaningful for me," said the 47-year-old artist known for his strikingly
colorful scenes of Gullah life in the Lowcountry of South Carolina."The other positive part is that the works are owned by a great cross cultural mix of people. That is of equal importance - and also that the collectors are the young and the old," Green said.
"Southern Images of Faith, Family and Friends: The Art of Jonathan Green" is on exhibit at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach through Oct. 26. Some 33 oil paintings and acrylics covering the years 1985 through 2001 will be featured.
Born and raised in Garden Corners in Beaufort County, Green is one of the most important contemporary painters of the Southern experience. He is the only artist of Gullah descent traditionally schooled and trained who widely exhibits his paintings across the nation.
"It (South Carolina) is a microcosm of the world. No matter where you're from, you paint what you know and what you come from," said Green. "What I'm painting is simply about people living and doing day-to-day things -- religious ceremonies, their fun time, being part of the landscape."
His work features canvases, many quite large, full of primary colors and Gullah people going about their day-to-day business - singing praise in church, kicking up their heels in dance halls, braiding little girls' hair, fishing on a bank. Many of the people in his earlier works are featureless.
"I wanted to record the earliest moments I could remember as a child and, as children, we don't pay attention to faces; we're more interested in the broader picture; it's a folk primitive form," said Green. After graduating from the Art Institute of Chicago, he began painting features on his Gullah people.
"I can't ever imagine tiring of painting what I do," said Green, who has had shows and exhibits in many states, has co-authored a successful children's book. His work is on calendars and postcards, note cards and on the cover of a cookbook. "It's the source of what I'm from. It's not just part of me; it's who I am. I'm interested in showing people we have more likenesses than differences if we can just move beyond that black and white issue and see the beautiful colors in all of us."
Southern Images of Faith, Family and Friends is made possible by the generous support of: The Carolina First Foundation, J. Egerton Burroughs, Burroughs & Chapin Co., Inc., The Chapin Foundation, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. Benedict Rosen, Santee Cooper, Time Warner Cable, Verizon, Waccamaw Community Foundation and Wachovia Bank.
The Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum
3100 South Ocean Boulevard Myrtle Beach, SC 29577
PO Box 1124 Myrtle Beach 29578
phone 843.238.2510
fax 843.238.2910
artmuse@sccoast.net