About The Featured Art
Jonathan Marc Burstein is a visual artist living and working in San Francisco. His work is in private
collections in California, New Mexico, Arizona, Georgia, Oregon, and New York. He exhibits his paintings and drawings
throughout the Bay Area and is currently a graduate student in the San Francisco Art Institute’s MFA program.
Jonathan draws inspiration and subject material from the urban landscape, his work often focusing on the overlooked or
underappreciated—be it the shape of a traffic cone or the work of a street vendor. Humor plays an important,
subtle role in his work. “Adding a hint of comic relief can deepen the work,” he says. “What might
come across as moralizing or too serious is made more ambiguous if it’s also funny. It seems to mirror life more
closely.” Juxtaposing disparate elements in a piece of art creates a tension, he notes, that can be both funny
and thought-provoking. “I like to catch people off guard.” Jonathan gets his ideas on daily walks and bike
rides around town. He then takes snapshots or makes sketches to develop further in the studio. “In a city
setting, there's so much crazy narrative going on around us all the time. I’m never at a loss for ideas.”
His work can be seen at www.jburstein.com.