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Jonathan Thunder was born in 1977 in the small hospital at the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation in northern Minnesota. Having grown up in the twin cities, Thunder infuses his Ojibwe perspectives with real-time experiences using a wide range of mediums. He is known for his large scale paintings with surreal imagery, as well as animated films and installations in which he addresses subject matter from loss and recovery of Indigenous sovereignty, environmental welfare, and humorous social commentary. Masked and animalistic characters in surreal and abstract environments often set the stage in these allegories Thunder describes as “vignettes”.

He has attended the Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA) in Santa Fe, NM and studied Visual Effects and Motion Graphics in Minneapolis, MN at the Art Institute International. His work has been featured in many state, regional, and national exhibitions, as well as in local and international publications. Thunder is the recipient of a 2020 Pollock – Krasner Foundation Award for painting. He has won several awards for his short films in national and international competitions.

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