Jonathan Lisenby, BFA in Studio Art ’07
“The scariest and most liberating facet of graduating with an art degree from a world-class research institution is that you have the required skills to invent the jobs of the future and not be constrained by the roles given by the old art world,” shared alum Jonathan Lisenby, BFA ’07. Learn more about Jonathan’s professional journey, from WashU to today, in this spotlight.
Tell us about your work.
I stopped teaching in 2020 to become a full-time artist, making paintings and furniture. My furniture pieces are often solutions to problems and daily inconveniences that don’t already exist in the marketplace, while my paintings are expressive and personal, often made with little care for an audience. I feed two intensely different parts of my personality with two bodies of work — one made in the mornings, and the other made in the evenings.
I began curating and selling young artists’ work as a side project, called Omnifold, as a way to give back to my local community and provide work for young artists right out of art school. I found that my college students had no provided path or safety net after graduating; I saw too many give up and never return to making art.
What’s something you learned at WashU that had a big impact on you?
I started a program my senior year to have WashU buy and display outgoing student artwork. It was a way to produce a collection of student work for future students to see and be inspired by, and also to create a first sale for young artists. I hung most of this work in the dorms as a way of bringing artwork into the everyday experience of first-year and sophomore students. The resident advisors used the artwork as a jumping-off point for conversations with their dorm floors about living with art. Some students loved it, a few hated it, but at least it sparked a conversation (and a few “dorm art crawls”).
When I started curating shows outside of school, incorporating the place and architecture of the housing was as important as it was in the dorms. And being able to show artwork that was specific to a place without permanently damaging that space turned out to be a big part of my practice. Erecting art shows quickly and in a respectful way is an integral characteristic of the Omnifold display program — the idea that art can go anywhere.
One-night art installation in Nashville, TN.
**What was your “aha" moment during your time at WashU? I started pitching event and program ideas to Jill Carnegie and other administrators at the university and quickly found that they would almost invariably “yes, and…” to students with a vision. Large amounts of responsibility were gifted out, but results were expected, too — 18 year-olds were given the freedom of project managers with massive budgets for wildcard projects like Art Prom.
What advice would you give a current high school or college student interested in your field?
The job title of whatever you, as an educated artist, will have in 2030 is a combination of words that hasn’t been said yet. The scariest and most liberating facet of graduating with an art degree from a world-class research institution is that you have the required skills to invent the jobs of the future and not be constrained by the roles given by the old art world.
Oak table commission by Nicole Kidman 2025
Original student work presented in the Student Life building 2006.
Building an art gallery in three days for Open Lot Projects