August 7 - September 29, 2023 | Countway 1st Floor
Artist Talk: August 10, 6-7:30pm
Artist Statement
As a conceptual contemporary artist and fifth-year Harvard medical student, Jonah's work reflects the intersection of his experiences in the healthcare system, his social commentary, and his passion for visual art. Jonah began studying visual arts in high school and attended Brown University where he matriculated as a visual arts concentrator. While at Brown Jonah explored many different subjects and ultimately found himself captivated by neuroscience. This fascination led him to pursue a medical degree at Harvard, where he has spent several years training to become an ophthalmologist.
Prior to matriculating at Harvard, Jonah was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to live and work in rural Bulgaria. In Vidin Bulgaria Jonah created a body of work that explored themes of isolation, erasure of history, and social change. These experiences influenced his approach to art greatly, and he continues to draw on them his work today.
Throughout his medical education, he has found solace in his art practice, which allows him to process and express the complexities of his experiences in the hospital, clinic, and operating room. Jonah works in a variety of mediums, including painting, drawing, ceramic, room installation, and photography. Jonah often ends up using mixed media to convey his contemporary works.
Since March of 2020, his artistic focus has shifted to center more on the experiences in patient care during the Covid-19 pandemic. Jonah's art reflects the emotional and psychological tolls of the pandemic on his own psyche as well as on our society at large. Specifically, he focuses on social habituation and the development of social numbness.
Jonah hopes that his art makes you work. He hopes to leave you questioning what you have seen and contemplating its meaning.
Visit Jonah's website and follow him on Instagram at @jonah_blumenthal_art.