Biography
A native of New Hampshire and currently residing in Oklahoma, Jonathan Hils’s sculpture career spans over 25 years, and he is recognized for his intricate and complex artworks in steel and, more recently, acrylic. He has completed numerous domestic and international commissions for private and corporate clients, including the Royal Family of Malaysia. Hils has received several awards for his public sculptures from municipalities and competitions across the US and is a former USA Artist Fellowship nominee. His works are represented in many museum collections, including the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. He maintains a studio in Norman, Oklahoma, where he delves into the exploration of new technologies as a natural evolution of his studio practice.
Statement
My work is inspired by biological and synthetic (human) networks formed strategically from reason, necessity, and chance. Early works using meticulously fabricated linear steel allude to chaos, order, emergence, and aesthetics related to traditional craft production. These ideas continue in my newer work, but many visual elements are appropriated through what I term “digital archeology.” Images and data transmitted or translated through digital means are constantly in flux. We live in a time of digesting redefined, exploited, and regurgitated ideas that are endlessly augmented and redistributed for our digestion. The residue of this is a universe decimating the foundations of reality in both beautiful and disturbing ways. My work reflects these choreographed elements as another iteration of form, space, color, and line.
Situated between sculpture, painting, and printmaking, my forms are digitally created using CAD and CNC technologies and manually executed via meticulous handwork and paint applications. Geometry is a recurring reference for the complexities and tensions of our evolving entanglements with cumbersome digital identities.