Jonathan Swanz

Based in Honolulu, Hawaii, Jonathan has been crafting art for over 20 years, with a focused refinement in glass techniques of blowing, casting, carving and sculpting.

Jonathan's studio practice continues to explore parallels in the energetic and social nature of materials and humans by investigating state change and energy of transfer through the manipulation of molten glass, digital media, performance, and architectural installations.

After working under Scandinavian and Italian masters in New York and Paris, he returned to the islands as a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa to continue his craft. Those reef fish from his initial visit are now part of his Tropical Abstract collection. “My art is about captivating raw energy,” he says. “Hawaii has such a visceral, elemental energy that's always around: the ocean, lava making new earth, the vibrancy of the jungle. Everything feels so alive here.”