In this presentation, Brazilian-American artist Jônatas Chimen will bring to light the importance of allegory, folklore, and myth as catalysts for growth and enlightenment through art. He will discuss how, in his painting, performance, and film, he constructs visual narratives that explore human displacement, hybridization, adaptation, memory, and identity.

Jônatas Chimen Dias DaSilva-Benayon, or simply "Jônatas" (b.1981), is a Brazilian-American Symbolist artist, author, and academic. His work explores personal and collective identity amidst a complicated and ever-changing cultural landscape. The artist's exploration of identity is often drawn from his own family history of migration, adaptation, and hybridization. ​Jonatas' art is process-based, ranging in technique from traditional Spanish Realism to contemporary approaches in 2D, 3D, and Time-Based formats. Jonatas often makes use of pastiches of immigration documents, DNA exams, Inquisitional archives, and personal diaries. Overall, his message of embracing one's cultural identity and disclosing personal beliefs is a recurring theme. For the past 17 years Jonatas has been featured at numerous biennales, museums, art galleries, and auctions, such as The Jerusalem Biennale, The MONA Biennale, The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Jewish Museum of Florida, Miami Basel Art Week, and Artexpo New York. In 2015, Jonatas Chimen was awarded the title of Artist of the Year by the Anti-Defamation League for his art series titled The Journey. Jonatas holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies from The University of Madison-Wisconsin, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida International University. 

This program is sponsored by the Jay Phillips Center for Interfaith Learning.