September 29, 2022 – January 8, 2023

Jonathan Thunder creates paintings and animated films that speak to popular culture, modern society, and his Ojibwe heritage. Thunder explores the ongoing contrasts and fractures in our society, even as we maintain individual connections and shared experiences. Inspired by imagery from media, cartoons, entertainment, and Ojibwe traditions, Thunder offers his own unique, often surreal take on the “good side and less than pristine side of the human journey.”

Jonathan Thunder: Maamawi is organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art and includes paintings from a new body of work and short animated films. “Maamawi” is the Ojibwe word for “together,” and addresses our shared humanity.

Jonathan Thunder (born 1977) 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, NM and studied Visual Effects and Motion Graphics at the Art Institute International in Minneapolis, MN. 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. His paintings and films were included in the 2020-2021 exhibition The Art of People: Contemporary Anishinaabe Artists by Muskegon Museum of Art and Grand Valley State University Art Gallery (with guest curator Jason Quigno).

Jonathan Thunder: Maamawi

Opening September 29

Opening Reception 5 PM | Artist Talk 6 PM