Jonathan Pageau: The Patterns of Tradition

Jonathan Pageau creates art that is beautiful and spiritually rich. Primarily an icon carver — trained in North America as well as in Africa — and also an illustrator, he thinks deeply and widely about the significance of art, the particular character of art emerging from specific cultures and traditions, and about symbolism.

In all of this he reaches audiences not only within his Orthodox Christian community of faith but also deep into a fan base with widely diverse views and entry-points into the whole spiritual endeavor. Many of them are atheists who are, as Jonathan says, evidently thirsting for the patterns and symbols emerging from traditional cultures — precisely what Jonathan talks about so compellingly. At the time of our recording, Jonathan’s YouTube channel had some 86,000 subscribers; as of now he has far surpassed 100,000.

As one of his collaborations with master architect Andrew Gould and iconographer Fr Silouan Justiniano, Jonathan edits the Orthodox Arts Journal, an invaluable compendium of informative and thought-provoking essays and images.

Below are a few examples of his work and work in progress.