Workhouse Artist of the Week: Jonathan S. Woods

Jonathan S. Woods has long been a fan of singer-songwriter Björk. She was  the inspiration for has his February exhibit, Imagining Iceland, at the Workhouse Arts Center.

In the online introduction to his exhibit, Woods writes:

“Her [Björk’s] notoriety goes far beyond a quirky image in the world press; she has become a major representative of the Icelandic people to their government during the recent crises of economy and foreign takeover attempts of their natural resources. She holds no public office, but has become an ambassador-of-sorts out of love.”

Woods’ love for Björk has developed into a love for Iceland.

“As a fan I’ve always wanted to do something for her,” said Woods. Last year he chatted with Björk online, and that started him thinking. “I decided that I had a unique opportunity to do something with my art,” he said. He decided to imagine Iceland in a painting.

Woods painted a three-panel acrylic and aerosol abstract landscape. “The orange and yellow splashes represent the lava of the volcanic landscape,” he said. In the background are mountains white with snow, and the aurora borealis above it all. Woods named the painting Imagining Iceland.  “When Imagining Iceland was complete, I thought it would be a good theme for an entire show,” said Woods. That painting has in fact become the cornerstone of his exhibit

The paintings in Imagining Iceland are all acrylic. “Some are abstract landscapes and some are more cultural in nature,” said Woods. He represents Iceland’s Viking heritage using Runic symbols in several of the paintings. 

Woods has never been to Iceland. He gathers information from books and online resources. “I start off looking at several photographs for inspiration,” he said.  “I use them as a reference, but I do not paint from them,” he said.

“I’ve always had an artistic slant in my life, from earliest memories even in preschool,” he said. “But I was never really encouraged because my parents never saw art as an economically viable way to live,” he said. 

He said this lack of encouragement led him to repress his interest in art for quite a while.

Woods earned a B.A. in design and art from California State University at Long Beach, but says he is mostly self-taught as an artist. After college Woods worked various jobs to support himself and save money toward having a studio. “I’d heard about the Workhouse years in advance of it opening,” he said.  “I was in the first group to apply to have a studio there,” he said.  He’s been at the Workhouse since its opening.

Imagining Iceland is at the Workhouse Arts Center from February 9 through March 6 in Building W-4. To raise awareness about Icelandic issues, Woods is dedicating the show to Björk. Ten percent of sales from the show will be donated to Nattura.info, which funds start-up companies and seed-ideas that aim at self-sustainable evolution in Iceland. The organization was chosen personally by Björk.