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Jonathan Polkest

Penzance
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I make and design installations, two-dimensional artworks and objects. I paint, construct, fabricate and formulate finishes, work is often gallery based, sometimes community based in the public realm or part of a performance/ritual. 

I have accepted commissions to create artworks and produce scenographic objects and scenic art. I have worked in many theatrical and display workshops as well as upholding a frequent schedule of exhibiting. This can call for experiment with different media, with applications and approaches both digital and analogue.

I maintain a studio practice.

My artwork and practice evolved from a fascination with painting, drawing comics, renderings, illustrations and technical drawing influenced also by the art emerging from St. Ives at that time and from an inherent desire to transform objects through the process of ornament and decoration. 

Initially attending art school in Cornwall and later M.A. fine art University of London, working in Design and particularly construction/ making for Theatre and Performance and any collaborative crafts that arise in such situations. Scenic sculpting, moulding. 

I devised and ran several painting/ designing courses at RADA and Goldsmiths College. Drawing continues to form the instigatory element of my practice embracing diverse ranges of process acquired through related developments, these can include photographic techniques, painting, textiles, paper-cutting and sculptural projects, design for performance. 

                                        

Theatre Set Design: http://theatricalia.com/person/291s/jonathan-polkest

The Draw Me/ Tedna Ve portraiture installation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC3zmJkWptM This installation for portraiture is a feature of my work that I continue to exhibit and operate in community art based situations, in schools, galleries and art centers. 

A large part of my practice is connected with teaching, research, residency and support in educational or work-shop situations, I appreciate the stimulus of dialogue that creative exchange generates. Drawing is often presented as a primary activity because of its lack of technical parameters, in its most advanced form drawing can be anything and as a tool or an attitude it is most effective.

 Collections Jack Larson Collection, New York, USA Bolitho Estate Collection, Cornwall, UK 

 

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