Artist Statement

Growing up in a conservative farming community within a family of boys, I have come to question my American, specifically male, experience. In creating delicate works on paper, I strive to explore male identities and the transition from boyhood to manhood. My work is about vulnerability and place, exploring the potential for these figures to discover themselves both as nurturing domestic creatures as well as untamed masculine beings. Creating community and ritualistic customs, these young men are questioning this complex world in which they live. It is my purpose to create a world where they are not judged for performing traditionally gender specific activities such as sewing, cooking, ironing.

Drawing from my own past, I seek to give these figures a context in reference to their clothes, hair, and the way they move about in the world. In showing these details, I am making a statement about the seclusion of the rural place I was raised and the aesthetic I find myself drawn to. This directly ties into my relationship with the men I grew up with and around.

It is not my intent to recreate reality, but to use abstraction to capture the essence of these men as they explore, build, and act out ritualistic activities. In doing so, I am inspired to create my own relevant vernacular to explore these characters.

artist@jonathandavidmetzger.com