2008 Poster Artist - JONATHAN GREEN

Born in rural Gardens Corner in Beaufort County, South Carolina, on August 9, 1955, Jonathan Green is the son of Ruth Johnson Green and Melvin Green. A graduate of Beaufort High School, Green served as an Air Force illustrator before enrolling as a textile design student at the East Grand Forks Technical Institute in Minnesota. In 1978 he began his formal study of drawing and painting at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1982. While studying in Chicago, Green met his partner and business manager, Richard Weedman. He made it possible for Jonathan to pursue independent study abroad to supplement his formal education. While traveling and visiting museums Green realized that “the best artists are those who paint what they know best.” It took a trip to Switzerland and Mexico to return him to Gardens Corner, South Carolina, and begin his body of work ‘Gullah Life Reflections.’ Best known for depicting the people and landscape of the Lowcountry, Green refers to memories of local African-American traditions, as well as tales and stories told by members of his extended family and friends. The artist's paintings reflect an authentic historical understanding of Lowcountry culture, although he sometimes takes poetic license with his subject matter. Green's Lowcountry subjects may or may not be literally realistic, but they always communicate a strong sense of conceptual accuracy.

Green has had many shows and exhibits, including one at the McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina in 1993 that traveled to a number of states. He has co-authored a successful children's book. His work has also appeared on calendars, posters, and on the cover of a cookbook. His paintings can be found in the permanent collections of a number of museums, including the Greenville County Museum of Art in Greenville, South Carolina, the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Georgia, the Norton Gallery Museum in West Palm Beach, Florida, the McKissick Museum in Columbia, South Carolina, and the Philharmonic Center for the Arts in Naples, Florida. He has received a number of awards recognizing his work and his civic contributions. He received six awards for contributions to the arts from civic and other organizations, was a nominee for the NAACP's National Image Award, received the Alberta Peacock Award in 1996, and was the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Fine Arts from the University of South Carolina in 1996. He was listed in Who's Who in American Art in 1995-96.

Jonathan Green currently lives and works in Naples, Florida.