Jonathan is a superb print maker and wood engraver, working directly onto his own box wood and holly blocks which he hand engraves printing onto Japanese paper. His paintings are informed by this practice even down to his choice of oak panel as a surface for his paintings. This is primed with gesso onto which he layers the paint surface, scratching back into paint layers and exploiting and manipulating line and depth with consummate skill.
Jonathan Gibbs’ practice straddles many avenues including book illustration, drawing, painting and printmaking, but all are interwoven. He has recently retired as head of illustration at Edinburgh College of Art and exhibits regularly in both Edinburgh and London. Jonathan has lived in Edinburgh for the last thirty years but grew up in Norfolk and his work still has a strong sense of mid-century English Romanticism. Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Eric Ravilous and Edward Bawden have all influenced him.
A deep sensitivity to place and memory inform his paintings. Images are recorded and over laid, sometimes with the sense of a window opening onto a landscape. These are carefully crafted, multi-layered works combing present observation with a life-time of images and motifs remembered. They are characterized by a strong linear rhythm, which unites the complex picture surface
Jonathan studied at the Central School of Art and the Slade School of Art. Recently he has worked for Faber and Faber, Radio Times, Routledge Publishing and Hamish Hamilton. He has produced a variety of book jacket and editorial designs, including Ulverton by Adam Thorpe, and has illustrated Prada shoes and handbags. He has had eleven solo shows at the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh and we are delighted to be able to show his work in Sussex.
A deep sensitivity to place and memory inform his paintings. Images are recorded and over laid, sometimes with the sense of a window opening onto a landscape. These are carefully crafted, multi-layered works combing present observation with a life-time of images and motifs remembered. They are characterized by a strong linear rhythm, which unites the complex picture surface
Jonathan studied at the Central School of Art and the Slade School of Art. Recently he has worked for Faber and Faber, Radio Times, Routledge Publishing and Hamish Hamilton. He has produced a variety of book jacket and editorial designs, including Ulverton by Adam Thorpe, and has illustrated Prada shoes and handbags. He has had eleven solo shows at the Open Eye Gallery in Edinburgh and we are delighted to be able to show his work in Sussex.
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