The woman in Jonas Gerard’s gallery is having a moment. Standing in his expansive space in the River Arts District, she’s so moved by what she sees she asks the gallery staff if she can speak to the artist in person. When Gerard comes out, he greets her warmly, asks her about herself, and listens attentively as she explains her own creative journey. A visitor from Ohio, she’s always wanted to take her painting more seriously, but never really felt confident enough to do it. “What you paint,” she explains to Gerard, gesturing around to his colorful canvases, “is what I feel.”
One gets the sense that people often attribute such epiphanies to Gerard. “Color stimulates the brain,” he says. “People have strong reactions. Sometimes tears flow. It can be a therapeutic experience.”
The emotional response is what he’s going for. Gerard is not interested in intellectualizing art. It’s all about the heart. “I enjoy connecting with people,” says the artist. “My life is about joie de vivre.”
Born of Brazilian and French parents, he came to the U.S. via New York when he was 13 and arrived in Asheville around three years ago after spending the last few decades in South Florida. His career up until now includes such highlights as a Presidential Honor in 1975 for his bicentennial painting We the People, and inclusion in collections from the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. to Miami Beach’s Bass Museum of Art.
For many years, he owned galleries in Miami and did the art-festival circuit on the East Coast and in the Midwest. When he was ready for a change, Western North Carolina proved the perfect place: it made travel easier for the art shows and put him nearer his daughter, an art professor at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City. When he stopped here to check out the River Arts District, the first person he met was someone who already owned three of his paintings.
“It was like confirmation from the universe that this was the place. I said, ‘I’m home, baby.’”
Gerard worked on renovating his 5,000-square-foot gallery/studio, opening the area up to give it a flow reminiscent of the street life you’d find in Miami or in Europe. Since arriving in Asheville he’s taken on commissions for private homes and public places such as the Hotel Indigo and Asheville’s City Hall. In addition to the colorful abstracts he’s known for, he also creates freestanding and wall sculpture and has recently added ceramic titles to his repertoire.
Gerard often paints to music and has recently taken that idea to a new level by collaborating on Black Mountain College-style “happenings” with musicians, most notably local composer/percussionist River Guerguerian. “When you find a musician who has a parallel mission and a connection, it can be very motivating.”
“What’s nice about working with Jonas is that we both do a lot of individual practice, but when we get together and perform, we allow the moment to lead us. The synergistic creations that manifest between all the musicians and him are lovely,” says Guerguerian. “For us, the process is just as exciting and inspiring as anything else. And the exchange of energy with the audience is also encouraged with this type of live performance.”
Together the two have worked together on several live performance pieces, including a fundraiser for the new park at Pack Place last April. During the “Painting to Percussion” event, Gerard set up canvases in the park and Guerguerian and collaborators John Vorus, Sage Sansone and Chris Rosser played nearby. Gerard responded to the music instinctively, painting in the moment. The participating artists now get together on a regular basis.
Working live, says Gerard, he’s completed three or four canvases in an hour-and-a-half in front of an audience of 200. While some painters might feel pressure in that kind of set up, Gerard feeds off the energy. “I improvise,” he says. “I’m in heaven.”
He inherited the drama gene from his father, a charming man-about-town who served as maître d’ of the most famous Parisian restaurants of the 1940s. That trait doesn’t hurt when you’re trying to sell art in addition to making it, and Gerard has been successful at both. He’s able to tease out what potential clients are looking for by asking them “What moves you?” — and being responsive to the answer. The artist sees himself as something of a conduit for the feelings others might be unable to express.
“Creative energy is the most powerful force in the universe, and it comes through those who are privileged enough to be open to it.”