3rd Prize Winner
RAYMAR Traditional Art Award

Beautiful Bizarre Art Prize 2024

Jon Ching

Title:

“Bardo”

Medium & Dimensions:

Oil on wood, 30 x 24 in

About the Artist

Jon Ching grew up steeped in the natural beauty of O’ahu which formed the foundation of his deep fascination with the natural and wild world. A self-trained painter, Jon’s devoted art practice and detailed realism is inspired by the interconnectedness of nature. Jon’s work is a surreal imagining of what limitless wonders and combinations nature can produce. His meticulously rendered oil paintings are often driven by his personal desire to find balance between the human and natural worlds, exploring themes of symbiosis and searching for connections, physical and metaphorical, across nature’s kingdoms. He has a keen interest in endangered species and seeks to share their stories, show off their idiosyncratic beauty and bring awareness of their plight. He hopes his art can spark an emotional connection and evoke compassion for the kingdoms of life. Jon’s ultimate goal is to inspire love and admiration for the universally unique beauty and intrigue of our living world.

“Bardo”: Bardo is the god of the forest floor, watching over the liminal space above ground with all that we see and the ground itself with all the unseen magic below. Conservation of energy is their specialty as they steward the transference of nutrients in a self sustaining cycle. Bardo, like the forest floor itself, invites the viewer to take a closer look and investigate what wonders are hidden under the fallen leaves.