Artist Gallery: Jonathan Kent Adams Is a Modern Day Monet

Meet Jonathan Kent Adams.

Through his drawings and paintings, the Mississippi-based artist uses his work to explore many themes and motifs, the likes of which include sexuality, spirituality, and his place within his art. Adams' work encourages reflection and self-discovery amid "traditions that often deny the outsider's existence."

"I make my art as a way of processing what it means for me to be human here," Adams said in a statement. "I see patterns of me embracing and deconstructing the spiritual myths and traditions that are a part of my life, especially in a time where we are so disconnected. I am interested in the spaces of possibility for connection. Over the past few years, nature has been a place where I feel free and connected. We have created institutions and new technologies that are supposed to create social bonds, but time and time again these structures are exposed as soul distractors. They divide us and often unite the worst in us. I don't have answers or solutions, but my art is a space where I am trying to explore what this means to me. I do not think I am fully seeing in my art what I am trying to communicate. I have glimpses of breakthrough, and I think more will come if I keep showing up."

Some of Adam's recent and upcoming exhibitions of work include Maybe, The Bridegroom Waits For Me, which took place at the Southside Gallery in Oxford, MS in March 2022; Open Studio at the Water Valley Art Crawl, which is taking place on September 17 in Water Valley, MS; and Queer Aesthetics at Mississippi University for Women, which is taking place in Fall 2022 in Columbus, MS.

Scroll through to see more of Adams' work. And for more on Adams, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and check out his official website!

RELATED | Blake Jacobsen Brings Blue-Collar Roots to Queer Photography

Spring 8

June Blake 2

Ripe Study

8x10 inches; ink on paper

Blake For Christmas

8x10 inches; ink on paper

Figure Study 11

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

Blake In Love

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

Locks

40x50 inches; charcoal and India ink on arches watercolor paper

A Lover's Commission

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

Still

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

In Motion

36x40 inches; charcoal and ink on arches watercolor paper

Lovers Dance Still

8x10 inches; ink on paper

Up

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

June Self 6

Tangle

42x54 inches; charcoal and India ink on arches watercolor paper

Blake At Night

Fur

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

Rotation

40x50 inches; charcoal and India ink on arches watercolor paper

Slide Away

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

June Self 3

18x24 inches; ink on watercolor paper

Isolation

16x20 inches; charcoal and India ink on arches watercolor paper

In The Studio

8x10 inches; ink on paper