Opening Reception: Friday, July 11, 5-7 pm
Jonathan Rose | Exhibition Statement A Song to Lily is a wish for a future filled to the brim with art and creativity; Lily is Jonathan Rose’s new granddaughter, born in May 2025. His paintings celebrate family, grandchildren, pets, and livestock, including the street cats of Merida, Mexico. Together, these works convey a light and airy feeling that is characteristic of Rose’s style. Each piece serves as a metaphor linked to music and lyrics; due to adult deafness, many sounds have eluded Rose, leaving him to hear only musical notes as they rise and fall while he paints. Rose begins his paintings with a rough sketch, a technique he learned in pastels while working with artist and teacher Aline Ordman 20 years ago. The immediacy and freshness found in soft pastels have become integral to his painting practice. This process is slow, sometimes it takes weeks to complete a piece. Nevertheless, each acrylic on linen painting retains the initial energy of the first brushstrokes. “Library Cat,” a large diptych, exemplifies his deliberate approach to painting. While the diptych is new, the subject matter is not; it features a cat that resides at the English Library in Merida, Mexico. The narrative of the painting— showing the same cat gazing at itself— is also fresh. Each panel depicts the cat, portrayed smaller against larger areas of intricate detail and color surrounding it. This personal mural signifies a new stage in Rose’s art, where he aims to work larger with smaller details embedded in broad swaths of paint. Jonathan Rose met Clifford B. West in 1993 while studying painting in AVA’s South Studio. West had a substantial influence on Rose’s artistic style, instilling in him the value of emotion in art. The two became close friends. Rose had his first solo show at AVA in 1999 in the Clifford West Gallery, and he is delighted to exhibit there again.
Biography | Jonathan Rose received an MFA from Columbia University School of the Arts in 1968 and a BA from Williams College in 1963. After college, Jonathan became a registered architect in Berkshire, MA where he was a partner at Bradley Architects until 1983. That year he moved with his family to the Upper Valley to become the Director of Design at Timberpeg, a manufacturer of pre-cut homes. Rose’s career changed in the early 90s due to health issues and resulting hearing loss. The transition to art began at that time and it was his connection to AVA Gallery that led directly to his painting in the mid-90s. He has been fortunate to have had solo and group shows in the Upper Valley. He has shown his paintings at AVA Gallery and Art Center, Matt Brown Gallery in Lyme, NH; and The Front, Montpelier, VT. He lives in North Thetford, VT. His studio is located in a barn attached to his home. Rose’s wife Anne is also an artist, and they share space at her studio in North Thetford. For further details, please see his website: jonathanhrose.com
Artist Statement | Jonathan Rose’s paintings come from years of work as an artist. He has always felt close to his immediate surroundings. While his work is simple and open, the subtle colors and free-line work result in many shades of meaning. The loose way Jonathan paints heightens this emotion. He typically will start with a basic wash on the surface to give the painting a warm or cool base. The subject emerges as the paint goes on, layer after layer, with varied brush strokes from round and flat brushes, all combining to bring a person, object, or animal to life. It sometimes comes from a sketch, or something remembered or imagined or a moment outside just looking and setting up an easel. There is often a sense of solitude, perhaps a teak chair alone in winter, or a young man at the water’s edge in summer. Jonathan Rose could be considered traditional and is sometimes thought of as Impressionistic or Fauvist or even a Magic Realist, yet he is most comfortable in the role of a painter who simply paints…. and paints again.
