Statement
As a Durham native I began an apprenticeship in glass art in 2001 creating production work for a commercial brand and teaching through the Durham Arts Council. Since then my path in art has intersected with many avenues of exploration and opportunity with installation, commercial and public art. The work I create is reflexive and responsive to its aesthetic surroundings while the repetition and modulation provides a visual rhythm with qualities accented by flourishes and outcroppings. My process involves multiple texturing and coloring techniques, interchangeable components, and a variety of materials with a focus on blown glass and stainless steel.
I find interest in the process of discovery that intrigues an audience, as the materials are not always readily identifiable. The shapes evoke intimacy with themes of aquatic life and extraterrestrial viruses while bringing life to overlooked or unnoticed spaces. Ideas begin as translations of heat and movement while the modular glass components allow for creative spontaneity and versatility during assembly. This tangential format lends itself to the adaptive installation and public artwork I am drawn to, leaving space for the unanticipated.
My work is displayed in many formats, whether it’s suspended from the ceiling, mounted to a wall, freestanding outside, or on a pedestal indoors. My pieces have been in numerous types of outdoor environments for multiple years and through many types of severe weather. Much of the blown glass in my work is powder coated for durability and assembled using hardware that attaches to armatures using stainless steel aircraft cable. This technique creates a metal frame laced with a wire net that the glass rests on while providing strength through flexibility. My desire is to present cerebral work in cities and public spaces by creating moments of pause in places of continuous movement, dissolving the barrier between existence and action.
Bio
Jonathan Davis is an artist from Durham, North Carolina who has been practicing his love for art, music, and agriculture since childhood. Jonathan studied jazz at North Carolina Central University in 2001 while apprenticing as a glass craftsman at the Carolina Glass Arts Studio in downtown Durham. During his apprenticeship he began designing and making his own production art as he was promoting and teaching lampworking classes through the Durham Arts Council. Shortly thereafter, Davis made the move to a remote cabin in Pittsboro, NC and attended school for sustainable agriculture in which he holds a degree. He has also worked extensively with the Forest Foundation, an organization dedicated to sustainable livelihoods, environmental education and fair trade craft development.
Davis has studied with many talented people including master glassblower Emilio Santini. He has taught hundreds of students, worked with numerous universities and organizations, and has worked with talented groups like the Cirque du Soleil performance troupe.
He now works out of the studio he designed and built in Chatham County, constructing botanically inspired creations and mid-century modern designs. Davis specializes in architectural lighting and sculpture. When he’s not in the studio or teaching, he seeks adventure and inspiration through his love of rock climbing, scuba diving, whitewater kayaking and traveling the world.
Photograph by Christer Berg
ARTIST CV
Personal details
Jonathan Davis, (b. 1981, US)
jonathan@jonathanmichaeldavis.com
www.jonathanmichaeldavis.com
919.200.1957
Education
2001-2003 Carolina Glass Arts Studio Apprenticeship
2006 NC State Lapidary concentration
2008 Private Study under Emilio Santini
2010 Furnace Glassblowing, Sally Resnik Thermal lab
Selected Works and Exhibitions
2013 Windows on Chapel Hill, Town of Chapel Hill Public Art Exhibit, NC, Public Commission
2013 Crank Arm Brewery, lighting pendants with Nate Sheaffer, Raleigh, NC, Private Commission
2008-2014 Chatham Studio Tour, Chatham Artists Guild, Pittsboro, NC
2014 Sculpture in the Garden, Chapel Hill Botanical Gardens, NC,
2014 Tupelo Honey Café, Collaboration with Matt Mcconnell Studios, Raleigh, NC, Private Commission
2014 Fabricator for Laura Belem’s 1,000 bells project, Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh, NC, Private Commission
2015 The Ritz Music Hall, Lighting Collaboration with Nate Sheaffer and Louis st. Lewis, Raleigh, NC Private Commission
2015 IX Art Park, lighting installation, Charlottesville, VA, Private Commission
2015 Sculpture in the Garden, Chapel Hill Botanical Gardens, NC, Public Commission
2015 Tupelo Honey Café, Collaboration with Matt Mcconnell Studios Nashville, TN, Private Commission
2015 City Tap Bar Outdoor lighting, Pittsboro, NC, Private Commission
2016 Shimmer The Art of Light, Illumination installation, Carrboro, NC, Public Commission
2016 Sculpture in the Garden, Chapel Hill Botanical Gardens, NC,
2016-2017 Sculpture Visions, Public Art Installation, Chamber of Commerce, Chapel Hill, NC, Public Commission
2016 Artfields, Lake City, South Carolina
2016 Cucalorus Film Festival “Glass Fire Poi” Wilmington, NC
2017-2018 Sculpture Visions, Public Art Installation, Chamber of Commerce, Chapel Hill, NC, Public Commission
2017 Sculpture in the Garden, Chapel Hill Botanical Gardens, NC
2017 Shimmer The Art of Light, Illumination installation, Carrboro, NC Public Commission
2017 The Glass Wheel, Glass Art Society Show, Norfolk, VA
2017 Living Arts Collective, Permanent Lighting Installation, Durham, NC Private Commission
2018 Sculpture in the Garden, Chapel Hill Botanical Gardens, NC
2018 Vetro Illuminato, Illuminated Glass Show, Berengo Studios, Murano, Italy
2018 Toledo Museum of Art, Limited Edition, Commemorative Ornament, Toledo, Ohio Private Commission
2019 Morean Art Center, Glass Art Society Show, St. Petersburg, Fl
2019 Long Leaf School of the Arts, Student Project, Theater Chandelier, Raleigh, NC, Private Commission
2019 Dix Art Park, Outdoor Illumination Installation (June) Public Commission
Press
Chatham Living Magazine, cover, p.22-26, 2008 edition
Forrest Greenslade, Chatham County Line, cover, Vol. 8, issue 10
Jonathan Davis, “Borosilicate Sunflower Pendant Tutorial” The Annealer Magazine, Vol. 3, Winter 2008, p. 27-30
Gerry Broome, “NC artists burns glass into sculptures” Associated Press, September 23, 2014
The Flow Magazine Spring 2017
Triangle Business Journal, The Book of Lists 2017
ABC “Localish” Feature Episode 37
Teaching
2002-2003 Durham Arts Council, lampworking, Session Instructor
2003, Cirque du Soleil, lampworking workshop, Instructor
2010 Jesse Sanderson High School, Visual Art Honors Class, lampworking, Guest Instructor
2007-2019 North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics mini-term, Session Instructor
2008- 2011 Central Carolina Community College, Introduction to lampworking Continuing Education, Session Instructor
2011 North Carolina State University, School of Business Management, team building workshop, Instructor
2011 UNC Charlotte Art Club, lampworking workshop, Instructor
2011 High Point University Art Club Introduction to lampworking, Instructor
2012-2019 North Carolina State University Craft Center Introduction to borosilicate, Session Instructor
2013 High Point University Introduction to lampworking workshop, Instructor
2014 Siemens team building event, Introduction to lampworking workshop, Instructor
2014 University North Carolina Charlotte Art Club, Introduction to lampworking workshop
2014 North Carolina State, School of Architecture, Alternative materials workshop, Guest Instructor
2014 North Carolina State University, School of Business Management, Team building workshop, Instructor
2018 Burts Bees team building event
2019 Carrboro Arts Center, Borosilicate Flameworking, Instructor
Awards
2010 Chatham Artists Guild, Studio Tour Showcase “Honorable Mention” Judge Dan Gottlieb, The North Carolina Museum of Art Director of Planning and Design
2012 Chatham Studio Tour, Studio Tour Showcase “Best in Show” Judge Jeffrey York
2014 Botanical Gardens, Sculpture in the Garden show, “Merit Award” Judge Carolyn Putney, Chief Curator of The Toledo Museum of Art
2015 Botanical Gardens, Sculpture in the Garden show, “Merit Award” Judge Jennifer Edwards, Bechtel Museum of Modern Art
2018 Botanical Gardens, Sculpture in the Garden show, “Best in Show” Award Judge Carrie Alter
Sponsorships
Glass Torch Technologies
Synergy Flow Arts
Residencies
2016 G.A.P.P. Artist Residency The Toledo Museum of Art