biography
Jonathan Herbert (b. 1952, New York City) explores elemental consciousness. He creates abstract work with paints he formulates of pigment dispersions, ground metals, and shimmering particles in acrylic and urethane mediums.
Herbert graduated from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1977 after he had studied abroad in Antwerp, Belgium.
Herbert’s solo exhibitions include the New York Public Library and the Chimera Gallery in Nashua, New Hampshire. He has participated in group exhibitions at the Red Dot Art Fair during Miami Art Week, the Frank Marino Gallery in Soho, NY and the Nico Smith Gallery in New York’s East Village.
His work has been acquired by the Kinsey Institute for the Study of Human Sexuality.
Press includes Cookie Mueller’s column “Art and About” in Andy Warhol’s Details Magazine. Jonathan Herbert is in the Cookie Mueller Encyclopedia. More recently, in 2016 and 2018, Working Title Magazine featured him in cover articles. In 2023, Brainard Carey interviewed Herbert for The Museum of Invisible Art on Yale University Radio.
Herbert currently lives and works in Sarasota, Florida.
December 2023 Interview
Brainard Carey for Yale University Radio
CURATOR MARK ORMOND ON HERBERT
“When I ask him if he has heroes Herbert tells me that he “likes the cave painters and believes they were shamans.” He also believes in alchemy. In considering Herbert’s work you can see those connections. There is something mystical about his work that is other worldly. It is spiritual in the way it can put you in touch with your soul when you contemplate his art. It can be magical and transformative. Herbert believes that “art puts you in contact with your inner life and takes you to a greater life.” In considering his work, this is possible. Seeing reproductions of his work is a starting point. Being in the presence of the work initiates the journey of discovery. I encourage you to contemplate his work in person.” —Excerpt from an essay by Mark Ormond, Independent curator, art historian, writer, lecturer and consultant in Working Title Magazine.
Portrait of Jonathan Herbert by Virginia Hoffman Photography ©2016 Virginia Hoffman