about — Jon Bolles

“In nature, light creates color; in painting, color creates light.” -Hans Hoffman

Sometimes I'm a realist painter working abstractly; other times I'm an abstract painter chasing realism. These are two sides of the same coin. It takes abstraction to create an illusion.

My work begins with photographs I take, usually drawn to moments where light reveals a network of interlocking shapes. I typically remain aware of the flatness of the canvas throughout the process, and I paint in ways that reinforce that flatness while simultaneously creating an illusory, liminal space. The paintings appear calm and stable, but they are held together by the tension between abstraction and realism.

I am currently based in Rhode Island. I studied at Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, Quinebaug Valley Community College (AFA) and Montserrat College of Art (BFA). My work has been shown in galleries across the Northeast US.