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Jonte Drew is a visual artist based in Paterson, New Jersey, working in oil, acrylic, and pastel. He earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2018 and his Master of Fine Arts in 2021, both from William Paterson University. Jonte's current body of work, the Floral Durag Series, depicts Black men from across the African diaspora. His subjects are friends, models, and figures from his community, and the botanical patterning of each subject's durag is drawn from the flora of their ancestral land. The work began at a crossroads during his MFA in 2021,as he reexamined the ideas of masculinity within the Black community he had inherited from his experiences in male-dominated spaces like barbershops, gym locker rooms, basketball practices, and church, set against the public backdrop of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Solo Exhibitions
2025 “Away at Home”, Art Fair 14C Residency, Jersey City, NJ
2022 “Take a Breath”, Pro Arts Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
2021 “In Green Pastures”, William Paterson University Galleries, NJ
Group Exhibitions
2024 "Foundations", Artsy
2024 "Admiration", Tanya Weddemire Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2023 “The Gigantic Miniature Show”, Deepspace Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
2023 “Art of the Culture”, Femme Curator Arts, Newark, NJ
2023 “Black Boy Art Show”, Brooklyn, NY
2023 “Black Art in the Sun”, Art in the Atrium, Morristown, NJ
2023 “All Eyes On Us, Jersey City, NJ
2022 “Tell Me More About Yourself”, Gallery Aferro, Newark, NJ
2022 “Revealing The Beauty Within”, Village One Art Gallery, New York, NY
2022 “From Where I Stand”, Akwaaba Gallery, Newark, NJ
2022 “Fire and Soul” Heath Gallery, Harlem, NJ
2021 “Art Fair 14C Annual Art Fair”, The Glass at Mana, Jersey City, NJ
2020 “Trap Art Exhibition”, The Art Factory, Paterson, NJ
2019 “Rutgers University School of Science & Art Show, Newark, NJ
2019 “The Brightest Light is Black”, Newark, NJ
2018 “Here/Now: Student Art Show”, William Paterson University, NJ
2017 “Here/Now: Student Art Show”, William Paterson University, NJ
2016 “Here/Now: Student Art Show”, William Paterson University, NJ
2013 “Passaic County Community College Student Art Show”, Paterson, NJ
2012 “Passaic County Technical Institute Senior Art Exhibition”, Wayne, NJ
Commissions
2023 Essence Carson Basketball Court Mural, NJ
2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park Mural, NJ
2017 City of Paterson Community Garden Mural, NJ
Press
Alban, Rachel. “Artist Jonte Drew on Feeling like a ‘Black Sheep’ and the Power of Arts Education.” JerseyArts.com Features, JerseyArts.com Features, 5 Nov. 2021, https://jerseyartsfeatures.com/content/2021/11/5/jonte-drew-art-fair-14cs-resident-artist-on-feeling-like-a-black-sheep-and-the-power-of-arts-education.
Little, Courtney. “Jonte Drew Is Art Fair 14C’s Next Resident Artist.” Art House Productions, Inc., 23 June 2021, www.arthouseproductions.org/blogs/news/jonte-drew-14c-resident-artist.