This Saturday, 16th May, at 2 PM, Jonathan Sölanke Gathaara Fraser, a multidisciplinary artist working across various media, joins Peterson Kamwathi for an artist talk presented within the context of ‘Tabula Rasa,' Kamwathi’s ongoing exhibition at the Nairobi Contemporary Art Institute.
The conversation will explore the ideas, processes, and themes that shape both the exhibition and Kamwathi’s wider artistic practice.
Fraser studied Fine Art at Kenyatta University. In 2021, his first solo exhibition, 'There Is A Time and A Place,' was held at Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi. His second solo presentation with the gallery, 'The Past Will Be Like The Future,' took place in 2025. He has also shown work in numerous group exhibitions, notable among them 2025’s 'Notes on Friendship: Breaking Bread,' a group show organized jointly by the Nairobi Contemporary Arts Institute (NCAI, Kenya) and Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Tamale (SCCA, Ghana).
In 2023, Fraser was an artist in residence at 32º East, Uganda and in 2025 was an artist in residence at Gleis70, Zurich facilitated by Pro Helvetia the Swiss Arts Council.
In Fraser’s words, “The human body and how to experience oneself in the world has been central to my work. The body—my body—is the first point of departure from my impulses, gestures and curiosities as well as a channel that introduces these same elements into the artwork I produce. Working across various media is a means for me to pay careful and (especially) caring attention to my environment. My practice is primarily process driven and incorporates drawing, printmaking, audio-visual work, and writing. I am deeply invested in our relationships to time, to the natural world of which we are a part and, as well, how craft engages with these notions by negotiating the body with material substance."
Entry to the talk is free. Please RSVP via the link in bio.
Join us on Saturday, 16th May, from 2 PM at NCAI for an Artist Talk featuring Peterson Kamwathi in conversation with Jonathan Fraser.
Presented within the context of 'Tabula Rasa,' Kamwathi’s ongoing exhibition, the discussion will explore the ideas, processes, and themes that shape both the show and his wider artistic practice.
Guests will also have the opportunity to engage directly through a Q&A session.
A sign language interpreter will be present to support accessibility.
Entry is free. RSVP via the link in bio.
My time in Switzerland has been really generous. I'm really grateful for the many unexpected opportunities that have come my way, for the resources to follow an idea's trajectory and for new relationships I look forward to nurturing.
Here are some shots from my recent open studio (12/12/25). Some drawings (432), some prints (unending) and a video.
Thanks to @brunoalderartist for the video and images and to the many hands called to be impromptu studio assistants.
This residency was made possible by @prohelvetia_johannesburg
Jonathan Sölanke Gathaara Fraser has just completed his residency in Switzerland at Gastatelier in Zurich with an open studio on Friday, we look forward to having him back in Nairobi and hearing about his experience and perhaps a talk in January #jonathansölankegathaarafraser #gastatelier #artistresidencies
My time in Switzerland has been a really generative period and I'm looking forward to sharing some of that outcome with you this Friday (12/12).
"During his residency in Switzerland, Jonathan has been orienting his attention and sensitivity by thinking about time spent and what we spend it on. Through a meticulous drawing practice alongside explorations with sound, video and printmaking, Jonathan invites us to attend our relationships with what he calls a "Loving Eye". We can look lovingly (and therefore act) with our hands, our breath, our ears, our care, our posture and our feelings."
My residency at @g70_artist_in_residence was made possible by @prohelvetia_johannesburg
Kenyan artist Jonathan Fraser is currently an artist in residence at Gleis70 in Zurich.
During this time, he has been making sequential drawings as an ongoing inquiry into time, and etchings with a portable 3D printed press as an exercise in markmaking and explorations with found materials, like leaves and seeds, gathered during walks in a nearby forest. These were shared during an open studio together with two older video works.
Alongside this, Jonathan has been busy visiting many exhibitions and events, including a hike with ecologists in Mt Zugerberg to explore data about wetlands in the area as part of a show looking into the intersections of ecology and art.
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#prohelvetia_joahnnesburg
#prohelvetia_residency
#prohelvetia_visualart
OPEN STUDIO 1 with JONATHAN FRASER
Herzliche Einladung zu Open Studio 1
Donnerstag, 9. Oktober 2025
Gastatelier | 3.Stock | 18.00 – 20.00 Uhr
Cordial invitation to our Open Studio 1
Thursday, October 9. 2025
Gastatelier | 3.Floor | 6 pm – 8 pm
Unser neuer Gastkünstler Jonathan Fraser ist aus Nairobi, Kenia, angereist. Er arbeitet multidisziplinär, zu seinen künstlerischen Ausdrucksformen gehören Zeichnen, Druckgrafik, Pflanzenpressen, audiovisuelle Arbeiten und Schreiben.
Our new guest artist Jonathan Fraser has arrived from Nairobi, Kenya, he works across multiple disciplines. He works in a multidisciplinary way, his artistic expressions include drawing, printmaking, plant pressing, audiovisual work and writing.
Fraser studied Fine Art at Kenyatta University and considers his experiences as a studio assistant and participation in local
workshops as formative elements of his artistic education.
Fraser studierte Bildende Kunst an der Kenyatta University und zählt seine Erfahrungen als Atelierassistent sowie die Teilnahme an lokalen Workshops zu seiner künstlerischen Ausbildung.
#AiRg70_artists_run_residency
#gastatelier #gastatelier_gleis70 #airg70 #g70 #artist #residency #artists_run #art #zurich_art
@gleis70@jonathanfraser@prohelvetia_johannesburg@prohelvetia_zurich
