Jonathan Sölanke Gathaara Fraser Kenyan, b. 1995

Jonathan Gathaara Sölanke Fraser is a multidisciplinary artist working across various media.

 

"The human body and how to experience oneself in the world has been central to my work. The body — my body — is the first point of departure from my impulses, gestures and curiosities as well as a channel that introduces these same elements into the artwork I produce. Working across various media is a means for me to pay careful and (especially) caring attention to my environment. My practice is primarily process driven and incorporates drawing, printmaking, audio-visual work, and writing. I am deeply invested in our relationships to time, to the natural world of which we are a part and, as well, how craft engages with these notions by negotiating the body with material substance."

Fraser studied Fine Art at Kenyatta University. In 2021, his first solo exhibition, There Is A Time and A Place, was held at Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi. His second solo presentation with the gallery, The Past Will Be Like The Future, took place in 2025. He has also shown work in numerous group exhibitions notable among them 2025’s Notes on Friendship: Breaking Bread, a group show organised jointly by the Nairobi Contemporary Arts Institute (NCAI, Kenya) and Savannah Centre for Contemporary Art, Tamale (SCCA, Ghana). In 2023, Fraser was an artist in residence at 32º East, Uganda and in 2025 was an artist in residence at Gleis70, Zurich facilitated by Pro Helvetia the Swiss Arts Council.