Jonathan Gardner

Jonathan Gardner (b. 1982, Lexington, Kentucky) is an American painter known for his stylized, figurative works that blend elements of art history with personal imagination. He earned his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 2007 and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2010, studying under artist Jim Nutt. Gardner currently lives and works in New York City. Gardner’s paintings are characterized by flattened pictorial spaces and a synthesis of traditional genres such as still life, portraiture, and landscape. His compositions often reference modern art aesthetics, drawing inspiration from artists like Henri Matisse, René Magritte, and Pablo Picasso. Through a collage-based process, he manipulates spatial depth and perspective, creating scenes that are both familiar and surreal. This approach results in a cohesive visual language that invites viewers into a world where figures and objects coexist in stylized harmony. His work has been exhibited internationally, with solo shows at galleries including Casey Kaplan in New York, Almine Rech in London and Paris, and Jason Haam in Seoul. Gardner’s paintings are part of public collections such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and the Daegu Art Museum in Korea. In 2017, he was awarded the Prix Jean-François Prat, recognizing his contribution to contemporary art.