Photography Credit: Syncasta Darko Photography

B O L T
​Brought to you by Isaiah Gray​

JONATHAN CROSS
California, USA

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​Bonsai
2015
​Rocky Mountain Juniper

Container
2022​
​Carved Ceramic
Corona Clay, Wood-fired

This angular design container was crafted by Jonathan Cross and is paired with a Rocky Mountain Juniper collected by the Backcountry Boys; Dan and Steve. The container was created in 2022 and the tree was collected in 2015. Bjorn Bjorholm initially styled the tree in 2017 and showed it at the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition in 2021. The tree exchanged hands to Isaiah Gray in 2022 before being paired with the Jonathan Cross container in the Spring of 2023. Ryan Neil restyled the tree in the Fall of 2024 and has now been left to recover.

​The goal of this pairing was to carry the angular structure of the tree throughout the container, while using the pot as a grounding structure for the composition, offsetting the narrower nebari of the tree.

A B O U T   J O N A T H A N   C R O S S

Jonathan Cross is an American ceramicist, with both an eponymous studio in Los Angeles and a wood kiln in the desert community of Twentynine Palms, CA. Known for his use of ancient wood-firing technique - his singular, imposing work spans sculptures, furniture, and vessels.

​After receiving his BFA from the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, Cross relocated to Los Angeles where he worked at the prestigious Gemini G.E.L. print shop. Here, he refined his graphic sensibility while working with many important contemporary artists, including Richard Serra, Joel Shapiro, and Ann Hamilton. His first foray into clay were handmade planters for his own unusual cacti and succulents. After working with acclaimed ceramic artist Don Rietz, Cross decided to pursue an MFA in ceramics at Arizona State University.

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Follow Jonathan Cross on these platforms:

Website: www.jonathancrossstudio.com/
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jcrossstudio/

T H A N K   Y O U   T O   O U R   S P O N S O R S

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