The books are part of the Book Paintings collection, an ongoing series that consists of bound works made from cut-up paintings, travel drawings, and accumulated materials such as xeroxes, black pepper, nail polish, and sand. The books are constructed from a range of fabrics—from canvas to theatrical costume—and their consistent size and structure allow for a variety of interactive arrangements and aesthetic combinations. They invite a tactile engagement that (re)composes the work with each encounter. Jonathan RajewskiArtist Books 2024Mixed Media17 x 16 in. About Jonathan Rajewski Jonathan Rajewski (b. 1986, Bismarck, ND) is an artist and writer. He received a BA in Philosophy from Michigan State University and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale University. In 2013, Rajewski co-founded the Hamtramck Free School, a rhizomatic educational network that facilitates creative writing and visual art workshops in Michigan prisons, working closely with juveniles who were sentenced to mandatory life without parole, a sentence that is now unconstitutional. In 2022, he established Entry Points, a re- entry artist residency for returning citizens to live and work as artists and writers while they transition to life outside. He is a 2015 Kresge Fellow in Visual Art, a 2021 Critical Practice Research Grantee from the Yale School of Art, a 2024 Robert Rauschenberg Foundation Archives Research Resident and a recipient of a 2024 Creative Capital Award. He has exhibited at Nina Johnson Gallery, Miami, Fl; Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY; Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, NY; Reyes Finn, Detroit, MI; Tripoli, Southampton, NY; Sarah Brook Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; and the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Yale Review, Mousse Magazine, The Exhibitionist (MIT Press), and Three Fold Press, among others. He lives in Detroit and works in Hamtramck, Michigan.
