Jonathan Palter
Artist member since 2020
ProToronto, Ontario
Born in Toronto, Jonathan Milne Palter began his art career as a sculptor. Using traditional tools such as hammers, chisels, and files, he creates his strong, imaginative sculptures from unrelenting blocks of stone.
In the 1980s, along with sculpture, Palter started to explore hard edge acrylic painting. His paintings were inspired by how shape, color and mathematics could precipitate different moods such as calmness, excitement and curiosity.
In the 2000s, Palter began painting with oils. Utilizing his sculpting skills and with palette knives only, he carves out thick layers of multi-coloured oil paint, creating abstract art which elicits a range of emotions that invite the imagination to explore. Not confined by the norms of traditional training, his art is marked by innovation and experimentation and is driven by the power of personal creativity. Palter believes that creative art moves us past the obvious and awakens emotions that combine memories, present impressions, and the promise of future events.
His love of travel has taken him around the world, from Greenland and the Arctic to South East Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. These world experiences, as well as the beauty he sees every day in the simple things around him opens the doors to his imagination and inspires his art. โEmpty canvases metamorphosis spontaneously into emotional and passionate paintings. Abstract painting is a channel to explore ones imagination and have a better awareness of not only the physical world, but also have an appreciation of what we all can create from within.โ
To see more of Palter's work, visit his website: www.jonathanpalter.com or him follow on instagram: jonathanpalter_art
Q+A
Best season of the year in Toronto
Spring, it heralds the rejuvenation of colour and shape.
Favourite musical artist / band right now
Bob Dylan, the personification of creativity in lyrics and poetry.
What do you listen to when you work?
Instrumental jazz
Who do you consider a genius?
Anyone who can see past the obvious.
What kind of artwork do you have in your home?
Eclectic in style from paintings to sculpture.
Why is art important to you?
Art broadens your mind and opens infinite paths of exploration and enjoyment.
Select Past Exhibitions
-1985
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2020
Accolades
1981
Press
1978
2021
Education
1973
Social
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