Artist Statement
Painting is the best avenue to tell my story to the world, the universe, and beyond. It allows me to share my soul, in hopes that it strikes a nerve with someone else. I hope that my art resonates with others and encourages some form of self-reflection or greater observation of the world around us. My arrangements are about peace and balance, and attempt to usher in a greater appreciation for harmony through an appreciation for disharmony.
I see wonderful collaborations between textures, colors, tones and placement that speak loudly and vibrantly for me in ways and in volumes that I cannot. They speak in chords, paces and rhythms, becoming poignant melodies that I hope move viewers to look at their surroundings in a more meaningful way. I paint because I have melodies inside of me – jazz riffs and tempos that are screaming to get out and explore. I paint because I don’t want to just say what I feel, I want to share it in as daring a fashion as I can.
Mostly, I paint because it connects me to my late Mother. She is, and will always be, my greatest influence and my most ardent supporter. She challenged me to never settle for comfort – to always push for becoming the greatest, most vibrant version of myself. Also an artist, she left in me a legacy of resiliency and self-confidence. And she charged me with promoting service and self-love above all else.
Bio
Jon Gilchrist is a self-taught abstract artist born in 1975 in Oklahoma City, OK to Joyce Gilchrist and Willie Gilchrist. Jon’s Oklahoma upbringing was enhanced by his early and consistent involvement in various forms of artistic expression. As Jon came of age, his exposure to social-economic and racial circumstances began to be reflected in his poetry and his writings. Upon graduating high school and going to college, he began to incorporate sketching and music into his artistic expression.
Later in life Jon was exposed to contemporary art and found himself more drawn to abstract art, due to his introduction to artists such as Joan Mitchell, Mark Rothko, Sam Francis, Robert Motherwell, Norman Lewis, and Romare Bearden. Jon mostly expresses these influences through his use of texture, materials, arrangement, application, and elevating his own brand of social commentary to a more universal stature - as evidenced in his latest exhibition at Art New York in 2019.
