Los Angeles based artist Jonni Cheatwood Wedge Gallery Podcast

In this episode we are joined by Los Angeles based artist Jonni Cheatwood. Jonni Cheatwood is a Brazilian-American abstract and textile artist living and working in Los Angeles. He was born in Thousand Oaks, California on July 21, 1986. Upon graduating high school, Jonni initially moved to Flagstaff, Arizona to join the men’s basketball team at Northern Arizona University. That plan was short lived, and he chose to attend Arizona State University, where he graduated with his B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, focusing on Education and Film & Media Production. While at Arizona State, Jonni took up painting as a hobby, which turned into a passion, which eventually turned into a career.

Along with the powers of social media sites such as Tumblr and Instagram, Jonni was approached by R&B legend Usher to collaborate on projects with Target, Yoobi and Pepsi, allowing Jonni to move back to Los Angeles in 2015 with his wife, Amy, to pursue painting full-time.

Since returning to Los Angeles, he has taken residencies at Hooper Projects, which exposed him to the gallery side of the art world. He is currently represented by Over the Influence (Los Angeles/Hong Kong), BEERS London (London), and Makasiini Contemporary (Turku, Finland) and he has participated in solo and group shows in Beirut, Australia, South Korea, London, Hong Kong, Finland, Berlin, France and all over The US.

This interview is part of the Lectures Interviews Exhibitions series at the Wedge Gallery. Learn more at wedgegallery.woodbury.edu.