Jonathan Cross began hand-building pots four years ago out of his Hollywood apartment to accommodate his growing succulent collection. The hobby grew into a passion, with strong talent apparent from the onset. He left Los Angeles in 2009 where he had been working as a master printer at Gemini G.E.L., the esteemed LA art print house, in collaboration with artists such as Richard Serra, Ellsworth Kelly and Joel Shapiro, to study ceramics at his alma mater, University of Dallas, in preparation for his MFA.
Cross’s structured ceramics cull from his background in printmaking, asserting highly graphic qualities over the common curvilinear functions of a ceramic pot, referencing geological formations: cliffs, plateaus, and icebergs, as well as man-made, architectural formations such as towers. In that, Cross’s work, though small, suggests the monumental, resonating with a rigid and formidable presence that echoes back both nature and technological might. There is also the undeniable influence in his work from the artists for whom he printed while at Gemini – Richard Serra’s brawny and stalwart shapes find many iterations in Cross’s pots, as do Kelly and Shapiro’s geometries.
If you are in Dallas, please come see the wonderful work of my friend Jonathan in a little show I've curated of about 70 of his small pots, at Bows and Arrows. The opening is Saturday, June 18, 2011 from 6-9pm. More info here.