Jonathon Robert Coleman (born 1970 in Holt, Norfolk) is an English artist and sculptor.
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Coleman studied Fine Art and Art History at Goldsmith's College, University of London, graduating in 1991. During this period of study he earned his Certificate in Anatomy and Human Dissection (First Class) at the Slade School of Art. His work predominantly explores form, line and shape within the subject matter of figurative nudes with most of his inspiration coming from the female form. Following this in 1992 he worked at the Royal Academy of Art in London studying the mechanics of this institution from Press Office, Exhibitions Office and Merchandising.
It was here that he met Sir Eduardo Paolozzi and Dame Elizabeth Frink, both of whom became a great inspiration for him. Coleman went to work with Lis Frink at her studio in Blandford Forum on her figure of the Liverpool Christ. He then moved to Norfolk to study at the Norwich School of Art and completed his Master of Art Degree in 1994 with an exhibition called 'Prime' where he developed his figurative theme, moving towards the male form with an exhibition entitled 'Standing Man'. These figures confronted the notions of the classical male figure as hero, athlete and warrior, and replacing them with the honesty of the standing man.
Later he moved towards teaching and established a sculpture department at Cranleigh School and the John Lyon School, and finally at St Paul's Girls' School, London. He taught drawing workshops at the Norwich School of Art and the University of Kent in Canterbury. Coleman works from his studio in London with private and public commissions. Jonathon Coleman Fine Art was established in 2007 and his work ranges from large sculptural steel pieces for projects in Knightsbridge, London to private commissions in Hampstead, and abroad in the USA (San Francisco and Florida).
Coleman's plaster bas relief sculpture, 'Eve & Eve 2009', was recently commissioned by the Groucho Club in London.
Classical meets contemporary with the recent work of Jonathon Coleman. The subject is figurative with a strong 1940s influence and reminds the viewer of the Lalique glass work and these stylised lines to define the form. He works with clay, plaster and jesmonite to create figurative friezes for use with architectural spaces. These friezes combine the narrative classical elements of the Parthenon in their storytelling with a contemporary use of loose lines and fluid shapes reminiscent of Matisse and Modigliani.
Paintings exhibited in 2007 at the Stephanie Hoppen Gallery, Knightsbridge, London were concerned with narrative friezes and employed the use of strong line and bold shape within the figurative theme of the female nude. Colour was reduced mainly to earth tones to reveal a stronger linear use of the canvas.