Contemporary artist Jon Koenigsberg knew he had a gift at an early age. Growing up on a farm in Iowa, there was little to do that fed his creativity. With three older brothers and a little sister romping about, Jon had little privacy. In an effort to “make things that brought joy,” he would “make arrangements of found objects outside, then hide them in places no one would find.” These small acts of employing his imagination were the seeds that remained dormant until much later in his life.
Born to parents who lived through the depression era, Jon was not encouraged to become an artist as he had dreamed. They preferred he follow his brother’s footsteps and enter a more financially sound profession— architecture. During his architectural studies at Iowa State, he took every art class available for his electives to feed the artist within.
After graduation, Jon moved to Chicago and worked as a draftsman and apprentice for several years before returning to Iowa State to get his architectural license, equivalent to a master’s program. During this time, he met his future wife, Eileen. The two finished the program and moved to Boston where they married and worked in architectural firms for several years. Denver was their next move and where they started a family.
“There is no mistaking the energy that leaps off the canvas of Jon’s work.”
Life as a full-time architect allowed zero time for Jon to tap back into his creative side. He was bored, burnt-out and tired of the grind. At this time, his wife started her own firm and Jon soon joined her. In doing so, he was able to breathe a little, and in 2002 signed up for a weekly drawing class in Denver. The joy that filled him after nurturing his creativity watered those dormant creative seeds. He could no longer deny what his heart needed and applied for a two-week abstract workshop at Haystack, an artist colony off the coast of Maine. The experience catapulted Jon back into his soul’s purpose: “To make things that bring joy.”
Within the year, he began showing his work in a local gallery. From that point forward, Jon became a residential architect by day and a fully practicing artist by night (and weekends). With the support of his wife and the ability to work beside her, he began experimenting in various artistic mediums. In addition to oil painting and drawing, he was creating ornate mobiles from materials found on his Conifer property. Each, uniquely beautiful and diverse in material, shape and color.
While different mediums helped fuel his creativity, Jon was ultimately drawn to abstract oil on canvas. His work is inspired by moments of Zen. “It’s when I’m lying down in bed and in that gray zone between sleep and wake. Something just pops into my head. I’ll sit up and think through the whole thing and process, then go back to bed and leave it for tomorrow,” he says. Sometimes nature sparks his ingenuity, or maybe it’s just while he’s zoning out on the interstate. Whatever the inspiration, Jon is adept at acknowledging and harnessing its influence.
Jackson Pollock described abstract art as “energy and motion made visible.” There is no mistaking the energy that leaps off the canvas of Jon’s work. The mixture of bold colors and movement provide a feast for the eyes; each painting a reflection of his impassioned imagination.
To view or purchase Jon Koenigsberg’s work, visit his website at jonkoenigsberg.com. Or, head on down to his studio at Artists on Santa Fe Gallery in Denver where he is March’s feature artist.
