Meet Todd Jones | Visiting Assistant Professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd Jones and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, we’d love to hear what makes you happy.
Teaching art is something that makes me happy. As a teacher, I facilitate learning through active exploration, observation, and critique. I actively encourage experimentation in the classroom through concepts and materials with each assignment, aiming to improve conceptual, technical, and professional skills. Art advances the development of learning about ourselves and those around us. Developing skills in creative problem-solving is necessary to navigate our constantly changing environment. Skills in creativity are applied in every facet of the professional world.

Teaching provides an opportunity for constant learning and growing not only from my students but also from the community. This provides the ability to continue the development of my own body of work as I teach. My goal as an art educator is to provide a well-rounded education to every student I experience in my career.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an experimental artist who explores the boundaries between contemporary painting and sculpture. I received my Bachelor of Fine Arts and double majored in studio art and psychology at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Once I graduated, I attended the Summer Painting and Sculpture Intensive hosted by the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This experience was a turning point for me and my practice, and at that moment, I knew I wanted to attend graduate school. I received my Master of Fine Arts in Painting + Drawing and a Graduate Certificate in Visual Arts Management from Ohio University. I am based in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I am a Visiting Assistant Professor and Gallery Director for the Art Department at Meredith College.

I am proud of my work and how far I have come with my concepts and use of materials in my artistic practice. As an artist, my work expands across multiple disciplines, such as painting, sculpture, and installation. I create sculptural paintings that explore thematic intersections of domestic space, geography, and geological processes. I reformulate discarded, and mistint paints into a visual record of cultural history through material transformations by pouring numerous layers to create strata-like forms that mimic natural sedimentation. My current research and creative practice recontextualize material practices and take an interdisciplinary approach to art-making. I use the mistint and discarded house paint to touch on topics such as consumerism, identity politics, and sustainability.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Raleigh, NC, and the Triangle area have a vibrant arts community and many fantastic places to eat and hike. For an amazing day, I would start the day with a hike at Eno River State Park in Durham, NC, and after freshening up, I would get lunch at Neomonde Mediterranean Raleigh and grab a cup of coffee at Lucky Tree down the road right after. From there, I would head to the North Carolina Museum of Art to check out the latest exhibit and the Ann and Jim Goodnight Museum Park. After this, head downtown. If it were a First Friday, I would go to Artspace to check out the work of some incredible local artists and see what exhibitions are on display in their galleries. For dinner, I would head over to MOFU Dumpling Shoppe and, if feeling dessert, end the night with Bittersweet down the road for a tasty treat or cocktail before turning in for the evening.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to the Art Department at Ohio University. I would especially like to thank John Sabraw, David LaPalombara, and Jenny Klein, my three thesis committee members and mentors during my time there. I would also like to thank Carrie Ann Baade, who has been a mentor since my undergraduate studies at Florida State University. Without their guidance and support, I would not be where I am today.

Website: https://www.taahd.com/

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