Jonathan Clowes

Growing up in a family who loved sailing, Jonathan Clowes's early aesthetic influences grew from nature, the graceful curves of sea-faring vessels, sails and the ocean. As a young boy Jonathan was always making things. When he was six, a Japanese friend of his father's was visiting and taught him to make origami swans. "So I proceeded to fold a great big swan, about four feet across," Clowes remembered. "I've always been one to take things to a bit of an extreme. Well, what do you do with something like that? Obviously, you hang it up. So my brother Tom and I made a mobile out of it and we folded a whole flock of other little swans - 15 or 20 little ones, out of paper of all different colors - and suspended them by threads from the outspread wings of the big swan." The resulting mobile was his first, foretelling of what has become a life's work.

Jon's pursuit of sculpture making took him from the halls of M.I.T, Boston's Museum School and the Portland School of Art to the boat yards of New England, places, "where one really learns to appreciate craftmanship," like Concordia Boatyard in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts and Paul Luke Yachts in East Boothbay, Maine. His recent work has been the result of collaboration with his wife, Evelyn, who is his artistic, as well as his life, partner.

In a recent interview Jonathan reflected on his intent as an artist. "A fine piece of sculpture communicates the artist's love of spirit, form and material to the viewer. As the work evolves aesthetic concerns interact with the requirements of the materials to create a uniquely balanced whole. The success of a piece depends on the artist's skill and attention to both demands. Good work elicits an appreciative knowing or wondering from others. Practically, the work must reflect a consistent and visible level of intention and care in its crafting. Beyond that, I believe that each piece must engage the viewer's spirit, encouraging it to move beyond the bounds of daily existence. As an artist, I seek to attain such integrity."

Selected Commissions:

American Lawyer Media, New York, NY
Antioch New England Graduate School, Keene, NH
Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, MA
Hilton Hotel International, Tokyo, Japan
Hope Hospice, FT. Myers, FL
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Kaiser, Los Angeles, CA
Kingsbury Cancer Center, Keene, NH
LL Bean, Freeport, ME
Lodge at Woodloch, Hawley, PA
Manchester District Courthouse, Manchester, NH
Massasoit Community College, Canton, MA
Memorial Hermann Hospital, Houston, TX
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Monadnock Paper Inc., Bennington, NH
Mosan Art Museum, Boryeong, South Korea
New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, Concord District Courthouse, Concord, NH
New Hampshire Oncology & Hematology Treatment Center, Hooksett, NH
Peterborough Savings Bank, Peterborough, NH
Phelps Dunbar, Jackson, MS
Pfizer Drug Safety Technology Center, Groton, CT
Retrovest Corp. Burlington, VT
Rockland Public Library, Rockland, ME
Royal Caribbean International, Oslo, Norway
Royal Caribbean International, Miami, FL
St. Mary’s Hospital, Grand Rapids, MI
St. Vincent’s Hospital, Birmingham, AL
St. Vincent’s Hospital, Indianapolis, IN
John H Sununu Youth Services Center, Manchester, NH
Visalia Convention Center, Visalia, CA
Wells Fargo Home Loan, Des Moines, IA
White County Medical Center, Searcy, AR

Selected Private Collections:

Atkinson, NH: D. McMillen & P. Lepovsky
Cambridge, MA: K. Brown
Cincinnati, OH: J. Griffin
Dallas, TX: J.M. Piampiano
Dallas, TX: D. Walp
East Lansing: N. Jackson
Falmouth, ME: J. & N. Lightbody
Grand Rapids, MI: T. Thompson
Manchester, NH: A. & K. Zachos
Rockport, ME: N. Talbot
Seattle, WA: A. Clowes
Simsbury, CT: J. Powell
Springdale, ME: M. Baker & B. Wilson
Walpole, NH: S. Butler
West Hartford, CT: G. & D. Weiss
West Hartford, CT: H. & L. Fonteyne
West Rockport, ME: V. Baker & F. Manzoni

Selected Liturgical Commissions:

First Church, Jaffrey, NH: Communion Table, & Lectern
Trinity Lutheran Church, Keene, NH: Liturgical Furnishings
St. Dunstan’s Church, Dover, MA: Pulpit, Altar, Altar Rail, Lectern, & Baptismal Font
Church of the Messiah, Woods Hole, MA: Meditation Garden Gate

Selected Exhibitions & Awards:

2006
Music of the Spheres Rhythms of the Earth: Brattleboro Museum and Arts Center, Brattleboro, VT

Birds: Flinn Gallery, Greenwich, CT

2005
Boryeong International Stone Sculpture Symposium, Boryeong, South Korea,

St. Paul’s School & Mill Brook Gallery Invitational Sculpture Show: Hargate Gallery, Concord, NH.

Gateway to Sculpture, The Fells, Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire. Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery, Keene, NH:

2002-2005
Annual Outdoor Invitational Sculpture Exhibit: Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden. Concord, N.H.

1999
New England College, Henniker , NH: Ways of Wind; 25 Years of Sculpture

1995
Currier Gallery, Manchester, NH: Masterworks; a juried exhibit
Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, ME: Makers ‘95
New England Sculpture Association, Manchester, NH: Governor’s Choice Show
Thorne Sagendorph Art Gallery, Keene, NH: People’s Choice Award

1994
Federal Reserve Bank, Boston, MA: New England Sculpture Triennial Exhibit
League of NH Craftsmen Gallery, Hanover, NH: Guild of NH Woodworkers
Sharon Art Center, Sharon, NH

New England Sculptors Association, Newburyport, MA: Cutting The Edge
Brattleboro Museum and Art Center, Brattleboro, VT: A Lasting Heritage
League of NH Craftsmen, Sunapee, NH: Living With Crafts
Shaw Gallery, Keene, NH: In Our Element: a two artist show

1992
New England Sculptors Association, Attleboro, MA: Grove Street Gallery Show
The Putney School, Putney, VT: Five Sculptors
Silvermine Guild of Artists, New Canaan, CT: Art of the NorthEast USA
Sharon Art Center, Sharon, NH: Killian Gallery, annual juried show

1991
Barn Gallery, Ogunquit, ME: Barn Gallery Invitational Show,
New England Sculptors Association, Boston, MA: Sculpture: An Eclectic View
NH chapter AIA, Craftsmanship Award for Liturgical Furnishings

1990
Barn Gallery, Ogunquit, ME: Barn Gallery Invitational Show,

Arlene McDaniel Galleries, West Hartford, CT: 7th National Invitational Sculpture Show
North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC: New Art/New Material
Tempe Arts Center, Tempe, AZ: Art In Motion

1988
Bauline’s Craftsmen Guild, Sausalito, CA
Laudholm Crafts Festival, Wells, ME: Featured Artist

1987
The Guild Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA: American Crafts Merit Award Winner

Education:

Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
The Museum School, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA
The Portland School of Art, Portland, ME