Exclusive interview with Jonathan Latiano- all about the artist

I love Jonathan Latiano creations that’s why I decided to make an exclusive interview to the artist as you deserve to know what’s behind the fantastic creations.

Find more about Jonathan inspirations and creative mind here. Enjoy!

How and why did you get into the Artistic Industry? Where did you study, etc?

My journey as an artist has been a bit of a winding one. When I graduated high school I originally intended to study animation and work in the film or television industry. I enrolled in a fairly traditional animation program but quickly realized that I wanted a more diverse academic model as the environment for my undergraduate education. I transferred to Moravian College, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania with the intent of broadening my skills in drawing and painting and then applying those aspects to my animation. It was at Moravian though that I fell in love with fine arts and graduated with my BA in Studio Art with a minor in Political Science. After Moravian I moved to New York City and was able to get a job in Chelsea working as an art handler. Working in the pack shop of an art handling firm, I began to learn and think in terms of fabrication, form, space and materiality and it was during this time that I began making my first sculptures, which would eventually lead to my current body of work. I made the shift to installation sculpture in graduate school at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore Maryland, where I received my MFA from the Mount Royal School of Interdisciplinary Art.

How would you describe your art style? How varied are your creations? Do you have a signature touch with it?

I identify as an installation sculpture. The works I create are usually made with a specific space in mind and they vary greatly from piece to piece depending on the site. The site-specific nature of my work dictates that wide range of materials I use when designing, fabricating and implementing an installation. When thinking about my artwork I am interested in where the installation physically begins and ends; I strive to emphasize the areas that exist in‐between the boundaries of defined regions. The pieces that I create contrast human intuition with the reality of our natural environment.

What do you love about being an artist?

I love being able to interpret and talk about the things I’m really interested in through my artwork, that though can be a love-hate relationship at times. There is a misconception that some people have about artists that our lives are lighthearted and carefree, that we show up to our studios, do whatever we want and then slap a stamp of approval on it and go home. The process of creating a work, or body of work, that successfully communicates an artist’s idea’s or intent can be an arduous process, filled with failures, doubt, frustration and editing. That being said, from time to time, when you know you’ve created something uniquely special, surprising or important to you, there’s no better feeling.

Where do you draw your inspiration from?

I pull inspiration from the natural sciences, specifically areas that deal long expanses of time such as biology, astronomy, physics and geology. Formally my work explores the tension created by the presence of fragility and the temporal along with the viewer’s own contextual relationship to the art and the space it inhabits. I find the complexity and poeticism of the natural universe simultaneously fascinating, beautiful and unsettling. It is through my artwork that I interpret, contemplate and contextualize these scientific theories and notions on a universal and personal level.

What are some of your most popular creations? Tell us a bit about some of your works and what you love about them. What’s your favorite and why?

Points of Contention, Flight of the Baiji, Shattercone, Compacting Factors and With Fond Regards from the Holocene Epoch have been some of my most positively received pieces in the past. For me my work is at it’s best when the form, material and space within and around the piece are working in harmony, which I believe lead to the particular success of those works just listed. I don’t have a favorite, that’s like picking a favorite breath of air; whichever one gets me to the next.

Is there anything exciting that you are working on at the moment that you can tell us about?

I am currently working on two very different projects. The first is a site-specific installation for the Esther Klein Gallery at the University Science Center in Philadelphia PA. The gallery is dedicated to creating a dialogue between the sciences and fine art. This group show, opening in February 2015, is focused on the time, growth, chemistry and visual elements of crystallization. The second is my first major public arts commission where I will be building a permanent installation for a new aquatic recreation center in the Cherry Hill Neighborhood in Baltimore MD. The timeframe and scope of this project is a first for my career and will provide exciting new challenges and opportunities for my artwork.