Jonathan Thunder is a member of the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation and grew up in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region. He attended the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico and studied Visual Effects and Motion Graphics at the Art Institute International in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His work has appeared in local, regional, and national exhibitions, and his short films have earned several awards. Thunder is a 2020 recipient of the Pollock-Krasner Foundation Award for painting.
This painting displays Thunder’s typical style and subject matter, a cartoon inspired blend of Native and mainstream popular culture. In this instance, a Native family shelters from the predation of COVID-19 while being entertained by iconic videogame characters from the Super Mario and Fortnite franchises. Filled with visual gags and stories told in single moments, this painting has an appealing narrative quality that speaks directly to the experience of 2020.