Jonathan Blackwell graduated as one of Duke Universitys first Visual Art majors in 2001, and has subsequently embarked on his own Space Odyssey. He gained experience in the theater at Duke and in New York at Dance Theater Workshop. His first play, Unrewind (2001) produced under the tutelage of London playwright Samuel Adamson, features DJ Porangui in an integrated performance.

That same year Blackwell produced twenty paintings in the studio of Nancy Tuttle May while serving as her assistant. His first solo exhibition, Nudes and Abstracts (2001), introduced the abstract style of Lineaism. His second, Portraits and Landscapes (2002) shortly followed, both featuring encore DJ sets by Porangui [www.solcreation.com].

After a life changing invitation to China, Blackwell was given the opportunity to travel through Hong Kong to Southeast Asia, India, and finally Europe, keeping a daily journal and capturing hundreds of drawings in countless sketchbooks.

This Odyssey stimulated an interest in global politics, prompting an abstract and written exhibition, Architexture >>> Communication Beyond Structure (2003), not to mention a score of political fundraisers and his second script.

This script became the screenplay for Louvst, [love . lust . lose . lost], an exploration into emotional understanding of human relationships. Meanwhile Blackwell mounted Studiophile >> Structure Unfolds (2004), a series of paintings on unfolded boxes, encouraging us to think beyond the box, and, upon noticing the unnatural outline of each, analyze the shape were in.

Blackwell just returned to his home in Durham after a trip with Robert Stromberg to visit Kevin Low in Shanghai, China. The three together co-founded Forplay Theatre as undergrads at Duke University, and plan to unite the US and China via Durham and Shanghai through art and performance following Roberts creation of the Durham Association for Downtown Arts.
www.durhamdada.org

In addition to www.lineaist.net, the Lineaist is now working on www.lineaism.com.,