JONATHAN GREGG (American b. 1945 -)Painter "These narrative images come not from intellectual intention; but have emerged over time from the clouds of marks and paint, like ducks, dogs, or dragons emerge for a child in the clouds in the sky. The images get recognized, acknowledged, invited to stay for a while in the painting, until time after time, they are invariably scraped out and replaced by other arising images, in an ongoing, open-ended practice of non- attachment, self-trust, and commitment to the truth of impermanence. The daily evolution of composition, color, space, marks et al, continues until some sort of temporary stasis is reached, in each painting, which allows me to feel at home and in balance with my own agitation, anxiety, chaos, magic, mystery, and joy." Jon Gregg, founder of the Vermont Studio Center in 1984, has spent the past 35 years in what he calls "a utopian adventure in creative world community building." Vermont Studio Center is now the largest International Artists and Writers Residency in the U.S. Jon has retired and is now painting, traveling and meditating full time! Jonathan Gregg’s lush works evoke sound and silence, human suffering, love, loss, abundance, war, peace, and politics, all seemingly without trying; their ardent marks thrum with life. Amy Rahn, Art New England Jon Gregg is a painter’s painter. His trust in the medium is absolute, manifested through patient discovery and revelation, elucidating soulfulness in his paintings. But watching Gregg work can be painful. He puts down a mark, a form appears, and then he scrapes the oil paint away over and over until, for the moment, he’s satisfied. He speaks of his resistance to being “too declarative” with his mark making , and a love of pentimento (where a part of a painting underneath is allowed to show through). What appears to the observer as struggle, for Gregg is play. “Painting is the most fun thing I know,” he professes. The result is like Chinese boxes – surprises within surprises, both subtle and illuminated – runes that are figures and objects embedded in landscapes that feel timeless, yet immediate. Arlene Distler for Art New England ** for a link to the entire article:https://jongregg.files.wordpress.com/2018/07/1art-in-new-england.pdf “If you look at the history of human kind, what we have perpetuated from generation to generation and century to century is in our museums. If you believe that that’s important, then it is necessary to plant the seeds of the next generations’ art.” Jon Gregg