Paintings

Figurative

“Outside any stylistic categories, hovering on the edge between figurative and abstract, Johnathan Roberts builds compositions that resist one-dimensional interpretation. Expressive and dynamic, they follow an inner logic of growth and pulsating motion that vibrates all over the surface causing an op-art effect in the eye of the spectator. Viewed from various distances, the paintings exhibit quite different appeal, found by the lovers of Mannerism to be illustrative of the splendid concept of the marvelous or meraviglia! They are crammed with floral and plant inspired calligraphy that, like an all-pervading and all-devouring carpet, shows off the power of Nature.” – Iva Körbler, art historian, curator and editor (Source: catalogue of the “Forgotten Landscapes” exhibition)

Landscapes

“The images by Johnathan Roberts seem unusual, different, ultimately original and intriguing for several reasons, and these works are not easy to define: although they arise spontaneously and retain a sense of immediacy, their structure is extremely precise, and their internal order betrays logic and the pursuit of perfect harmony. Balancing between abstraction and figurative, moreover accentuated with a thoughtful decorativeness and associative scenes that point to imagination rather than fragments of a concrete objective world, this painter draws us into a deeply personal inventory of creation.” – Professor of Art History Dr. Zvonko Maković, (Source: catalogue of the “Be Cheerful While You Are Alive” exhibition)

Mindscapes

“Both of Johnathan Roberts’ sources of inspiration, the one that refers to nature and its organic structure, as well as the other that points to an irrational and speculative component, summarize his painting in its firmly conceived artistic expression as uniquely valuable in contemporary art.” – Milan Bešlić, art historian, author, critic and curator for Modern Gallery, Zagreb (Source: catalogue of the “Mindscapes” exhibition)

Celestial bodies

“Johnathan A. Roberts transmits his cheerful nature to his paintings, which act on the observer like an elixir. Full of vivid colors, the images take us away to an imaginary world in which everyone sees what they want, and the impression they leave us with can only be positive.”
– Daniela Bilopavlović Bedenik, art historian and Senior Curator in the Zagreb Contemporary Art Museum Department of Outsider art (Source: catalogue of the “Spring Convergence” exhibition)

Abstract organics

“There are many ways in which artists can strive to feel and portray the reality we are immersed in as complexly as possible – from the physical in which we recognize three-dimensional objects, to the other mental, emotional, subconscious and even intuitive detection of parallel dimensions and worlds. The works of Johnathan Roberts are closer to that second polarization, and they seem to actually talk about multidimensional realities in an optimal way. They refer in a very special way to the micro-worlds we can recognize, feel and see in and around us, from movement at the level of molecular reality in the body, to fine associations with the existence of a complex divine, subatomic matrix that deeply permeates the universe.”- Iva Körbler, art historian, curator and editor (Source: catalogue of the “Serpentine Fire” exhibition)

Extremophiles

“An encounter with Johnathan Roberts’ paintings brings something new. With recognizable poetics based on the interplay of abstract and figurative elements, along with literal allusiveness and vibrant, bright colorism strengthened by the pointillist method of color application, each cycle of his paintings allows us to take one step closer to broadening our visual, cognitive and spiritual consciousness. In the visual sense, we note the consistency in creation of his esthetically attractive style never slips into the trap of a one-off likeability. The painter’s canvas, strongly energized by the structure of and relationships between colors is a double window into the world of the imaginary and the real.” – Barbara Vujanović, art historian and Senior Curator at the Ivan Meštrović Museums. (Source: catalogue of the “Extremophiles” exhibition.)

Botanicals & Beasts

“Johnathan Roberts’ paintings are defined by the concept of abstract pointillism. They are at once a combination of the study of the latest advances in science – especially neuroscience, biomimicry and physics – and the artist’s lived, intuitive sense of life. That which is most important in life. All this in the fine gradation of color and construction of shading and tone. Harmony and higher order, consonance and correctness, a meditative atmosphere… These images, sometimes through a sense of foreboding, in other cases completely open, lead to a world in which you want to stay for a long, long time. Because everything will be fine there.”
– Patricia Kiš, Arts and Culture journalist for Jutarnji list (Source: catalogue for the exhibition “Artists in the World of Augmented Reality”)

Impressionism

“There is no anxiety or doubt in this painter of lavish flower fields in which the world acquires almost biblical connotations. Johnathan A. Roberts sees only paradise in the scenes around him and in himself.” – Marina Tenžera, journalist (source: Vjesnik daily newspaper review of Galerija Mala exhibition)

Murals