I'm Jon E. Nimetz
Since I was a child, I have been living mostly in my imagination. As a young boy, growing up outside of Washington, D.C., I was randomly switching pallette colors in intricate Paint by Numbers masterpieces that were intended for adults. This left finalized paintings with absurd color schematics, which really thrilled me. Since then, I have pushed the boundaries of my visual exploration, seeking to recapture that thrill while working with a multitude of mediums. Eventually I found painting to be my primary choice of artistic expression.
My work throughout the past 35 years has been primarily focused on comprehending my Identity.When I was 6 years old, I found out I was adopted and this drastically altered my perception of self in relation to those around me who were biologically related to their parents. It created a chasm in me, that prevented me from understanding my identity, which is why I decided to pursue visual creation. It allowed me to be anyone I chose to be and to express those innermost feelings of abandonment that I struggled with as a child.
As my understanding of self has developed over the years, so have my choices in relation to the imagery I chose to paint. Early on, I was taking photographs from old movies on television (Pre-internet), and developing tons of 35mm film of the pictures that I took . I would take these photos, collage them together, then paint them on a large scale. The narrative was usually tumultuous, disjointed, and dysfunctional, much like my life at the time.
As I moved into the 2000's, I dropped the desire to utilize reference material and started painting directly from my imagination. The figure was still the primary object in the art work, however often the characters were placed in abstract environments. By the end of that decade I was incorporating words into the paintings to either guide or dissuade the viewer from comprehending the meaning behind the work. I enjoyed the interplay between the figure, words or poetry, and abstract surroundings.
Around 2005 I stopped seeing myself as an individual within society and started to look within to see how I fit into the Universe on a biological level and not simply as a member of humanity. I began implementing aspects of the natural world in combination with Abstract Expressionism and elementts of Surrealism to create images that no longer incorporated the figure from a literal perspective, however still carried a narrative often via the titles of the paintings.
Recently, I began seeing myself and the world as nothing more than a conglomeration of molecular activity and cellular function. My recent work takes elements of String Theory and combines them with aspects of biology, chemistry, and cellular activity. I want my paintings to make your eyes bounce around, unable to rest on any given object. Additionally, while the paintings are Abstract, they are also structured and organized, I label this mode of working Abstract Surrealism. My process involves researching and analyzing many images of cellular activity and flora and fauna, as well as viruses, on a microscopic scale and magnify combinations of them onto a large scale. Surprisingly, I still see the figures within my work, but more so as cells representing the figures and how they interact with other surrounding cells thus creating a spectacle of movement and motion.
Nowadays, I rarely begin a new painting with a concrete notion of what the image will be, though I do have a general picture I have elaborately defined in my minds eye. I trust that my mind has absorbed the visual research I have done along with everything else that has transpired in the world around me and will express those memories through the imagery I create. Often within the first few sessions the basic layout of the piece reveals itself, at which point I create balance and nuance with patterns, shapes, and forms. My current work is mixed media, but I primarily utilize paint pens and acrylic. All of my Art has meaning, but it is truly the job of the viewer to interpret their own meaning and content. If we have shared experiences in life, then we should have shared perceptions and comprehensions of meaning as well. It is both Abstract and Surreal, chaotic and organized, devoid of meaning and full of it as well.
I received a BA in Political Science, a Masters of Fine Art Painting, and a Masters of Secondary Art Education. Additionally, in 2007, I started the Sharpie Squad, a group of 21 international artsits who used Sharpie pens in their work. For seven years I continued to be sponsored by Sharpie and 3M as I assisted them with product development for their Fine Point and Paint Pen lines. I have had over 20 individual and 50 group showcases. In 2012 I worked with ClearChannel creating billboard paintings that traveled the West Coast in an attempt to create awareness about the billboard industries waste created by the disposal of canvas billboards. I have also been involved in numerous politically motivated endeavors delving into subjects of desalinization, climate change awareness, abolition of plastics, and most recently a campaign clamoring for changes in the American political system.
I am so pleased to have a website here that also functions as a storefront; selling Prints (Metal, Canvas, Fine Art Paper), Merchandise, and Apparel. I hope you enjoy my work and if it inspires you, please drop me an email and introduce yourself. Thanks for checking me out!
art business has been designated as a "Trusted Art Seller" with The Art Storefronts Organization, which means you can shop with confidence, and know that I stand behind the quality and value of my products.
