Invited artist: JONATHAN HILLS
Rust Never Sleeps
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Rust Never Sleeps is an homage to the creative reinvention of the spirit and relentlessness of time influencing our existence. Drawing from the iconic Neil Young album of the same name, the impact of the songs on that record and the subsequent experiences of witnessing the sonic calisthenics of Crazy Horse live in my youth had a dramatic and profound impact on my life. So many metaphors can be drawn between the rhythm, intensity, performance, and the energy of music and iron casting.
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As an artist of my generation, adapting, learning, and reinvention is crucial to my well-being and feeling relevance on this earth. This artwork comprises entirely digitally fabricated objects by incorporating rings of 3d printed geometry that were generated from an electron microscope image of iron rust surface corrosion. These are overlayed on a piece of mirrored acrylic that reflects the "Fe" atom present in all living humans. In contrast, you, yourself, are reflected in the artwork.
Jonathan Hils 2022
Jonathan W. Hils has presented seven solo exhibitions and participated in over forty group exhibitions across the country in the past decade. He’s represented in a number of private and corporate collections internationally including the Four Seasons, Hyatt Corporation, Hilton Corporation, BancFirst, The Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Tysons Galleria, Equity West Investment Partners, and the John Michael Kohler Art Center.
He's completed public art projects for the City of Norman, OK, the San Diego Port Authority, the the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority for the State of Oklahoma, the Paseo Arts Association (Paseo District) which received the CityScape Award from the City of Oklahoma City. The grand prize recipient of theTX/OK Artprize competition, the City of Hamilton Outdoor Sculpture Competition, and the 21st Rosen Outdoor Sculpture Competition, Hils has also received the Oklahoma Visual Art Coalition’s Artist Fellowship Award, the John Michael Kohler artist residency program (metal casting), and was nominated for a USA Artists Fellowship.
His work has been featured at the International Sculpture Center (ISC), and reviewed in reVIEW Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, Sculpture Magazine (China), and Art Focus Oklahoma Magazine. His works are also included in the collections of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OK), the Wichita Falls Museum of Art (TX), and the LaGrange Art Museum (GA).
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Hils maintains a studio in Norman, OK and is represented professionally in Oklahoma, Colorado, and California.
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