Jonathan McFadden, Photogravure
Statement
My work is centered on connections, be it between imagery, text, found and mass-produced objects I seek to create narrative contingencies by linking information. This information is largely taken from and influenced by social media posts, cell phone photography, online advertising, to name a few. From the sourced information look for connections between the objects and information seeking out what is real and a facsimile. This may include a cctv camera streaming an image of a fake houseplant on a mass-produced shelf that hold both an original print and a object that utilized the documentation of that print. I seek then to create a dialogue with the viewer about the value of objects and their hierarchy when placed together and in conjunction with the seemingly ephemeral nature of social media linguistics.
I am interested how we interact with, interpret and process fragments of personal narratives of people we have loose associations with yet have found ourselves a voyeur in the personal moments of their life. While this could be considered ephemeral imagery because it only is in our feeds temporarily these digital images have a permanence and history that exists beyond the few seconds we view them on our computers or phones. By utilizing this information for object creation the ephemeral take on a static permanence altering how the information is consumed and allows the viewer to engage in new dialogues with the work.
Biography
Jonathan McFadden holds a MFA in printmaking from Edinburgh College of Art, United Kingdom (2009), BFA in Printmaking (2006), and BA in French (2006) from Texas State University and has studied at the L’Université de Picardie in Amiens, France.
His work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions at the
National Gallery of Scotland (Edinburgh)
Royal Scottish Academy (Edinburgh)
University of Texas- San Antonio
University of Wisconsin- Madison
the University of Minnesota
621 Gallery (Tallahassee, Florida)
Highpoint Center For Printmaking (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Wichita State University (Kansas)
Millsaps College (Mississippi)
Berea College (Kentucky)
Eastern Kentucky University (Kentucky),
Georgetown College (Kentucky)
Salisbury University (Maryland)
55 Limited (Berlin, Germany)
Torrance Shipman Gallery, (Brooklyn, New York)
and many other national and international venues including over 100 group exhibitions. In 2010 and 2011 Jonathan was a Jerome Fellow at Highpoint Center For Printmaking in Minneapolis. He has also undertaken residencies that the Prairie Center for the Arts (Peoria), Cove Park (Scotland), 55 LTD (Germany), and Anchor Graphics (Chicago). Jonathan has previously taught at Minnesota State University, Edinburgh College of Art (Scotland), and Houston Community College. He is currently Assistant Professor of Art Studio at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.
