Mexican ceramist and award winning sculptor, Jonathan Rex.
Jonathan is an extremely talented potter/ceramist who has been garnered over 30 awards and reconditions through out Mexico and even visited Sochi, Russia as part of "Viva Mexico 2015".
His extraordinary, one of a kind, works of art are found in museums and private collectors homes.
Jonathan is an extremely talented potter/ceramist who has been garnered over 30 awards and reconditions through out Mexico and even visited Sochi, Russia as part of "Viva Mexico 2015".
His extraordinary, one of a kind, works of art are found in museums and private collectors homes.
Example: The "Navigator"The future is a mystery and we do not know what will happen to us along the way we travel, yet we continue to move, over an ocean of possibilities. The eye records everything at every step, what we discover, experiences, teachings, victories and defeats. Corn represents life. The spirals, time. The owl represents learning becoming wisdom. The xoloitxcuintle dog, a faithful companion, represents the end of the journey, death.
The selection of pieces have a common theme, the worldview of death and the underworld in pre-Hispanic Mexican culture, the jaguar, an important element for Mesoamerican peoples, represents the night, the sun passing through at night.
The western pillars represent the merging of cultures in time, the books the knowledge and the history that is being written, the owl represents the night, mysticism, magic and the xoloitzcuintle is associated with Mictlán, the underworld (Mexican mythology). the abode of the deadThe clay that Jonathan uses is from Tlaquepacque and Tonala, there are two types of clay, the white clay (which is really a light gray) and the black clay (which is a dark gray). Additionally he uses, a beautiful, light, coffee colored clay from Guanajuato, a fine white clay from the Old Mine and a heat resistant yellow clay, which causes the figurines to be strong and sturdy are also used to create these amazing statures.
Jonathan says that his creative process is influenced by his early participation in sports and musical training, which helped in the "art of creating", channeling a state of mental and physical concentration that allows the flow of ideas, solutions, strategies, the control of emotions and above all that of improvisation. In both fields, playing, (after discipline and dedication), was a key element to channel a state of “creative flow”.
Jonathan is part of a lineage of creative ceramicists, his Great Grandfather Florencio Reyes is among the ceramic artisans celebrated on the commemorative plaque mounted in Hidalgo Gardens, the center of Tlaquepaque.
From a very young age Jonathan enjoyed drawing and painting, playing with clay and brushes in the workshop of his father Don Pedro Reyes, who learned the artisan techniques from his father, Don “Rol” Reyes as well as Jonathan's great-grandfather Don Florencio Reyes, in Tlaquepaque Jalisco.
Jonathan chose to make art his career and began to practice. Over time his technique improved and he participated in some clay sculpture contests in Tlaquepaque, winning some prizes as well as recognition in artisanal innovation until winning in 2010 the Presidential Award of the Pantaleón Panduro National Ceramic Award, His work is currently exhibited in the main room of the Pantaleón Panduro Museum and is part of the nation's cultural heritage.
With the money he won from the Presidential Award, he was able to pay for his degree in visual arts for artistic expression at the Center of Art, Architecture and Design of the University of Guadalajara.
With the money he won from the Presidential Award, he was able to pay for his degree in visual arts for artistic expression at the Center of Art, Architecture and Design of the University of Guadalajara.
Jonathan Rex continues to forge his own path for artistic expression exploring symbolism and expressing his unique worldview.
