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RAYMOND V. JONAS

born 1942

CountryProvo, Utah, USA

BiographyRaymond Jonas was born in 1942 and grew up in California, where he had many opportunities to see good art-traveling exhibitions from Europe as well as the work of local artists. Jonas says he has learned much about art from looking at the work of other artists. His formal studies were completed at the Art Center in California and at Brigham Young University in Utah. He began work as a painter in the 1960s, heavily influenced by abstract expressionism, especially in the paintings of Willem DeKooning and Franz Kline. This interest led to a serious study of the paintings, ceramics, and sculpture of the 20th Century master, Pablo Picasso. Although Ray's work, for the most part, does not resemble that of Picasso, that single artist, more than any other, has had the most profound influence on Jonas and on his art. While studying crafts at BYU, Ray discovered wood as a medium and began "a love affair with form" and made over 100 free-form containers. In the 1970s, he started making wood sculptures because wood was inexpensive, easy to work with, and he could make large forms. The greatest influence on his work at this time was Henry Moore. Jonas met Milo Baughman, a noted furniture designer, in Utah in the mid 1970s. Working for him was Ray's first experience with the carving and construction of wood furniture. He executed the designs of Milo and later constructed furniture based on his own designs. This furniture design became the balance of his work in the '80s. For Ray, the furniture was simply sculpture people could sit on. Then Ray explored the use of metal, especially steel, in fabricating sculpture. At the same time, he continued his work in wood sculpture and furniture. What Jonas is interested in communicating through his work is the beauty of abstract form, which is what excited him about art from the beginning. Presently, Ray is combining wood and metal, especially bronze and wood. In July of 1998, Ray exhibited recent works at the Springville Museum of art in a joint show with his son, Noel Jonas. These works by Ray, "Totemic Images," reflect the Northwest American Culture of the past. Jonas draws on several primitive cultures, including early African and aboriginal, for much of his artwork and appreciates the spiritual role such art plays in each of the respective cultures. Jonas' work is not political, instructive, or illustrative. Instead, he deals with form for its own sake and finds beauty in its simplicity. Abstract Configuration is a good example of Ray Jonas' early work. He chose sycamore because the wood's size allowed large-scale work. The separate elements were roughed in with a chain saw and sculptors' adz, then refined with a gouge and powder sander. The parts are joined together with steel pins and all-thread. By attaching elements, a form even larger than the original tree was realized.

Information taken from the artist's constituent binder in The Print Study Room and from www.sma.shs.nebo.edu/jonas.html.
Entered by: Michael Clayton, Print Study Room Staff, 2/7/06

Person TypeIndividual