Johnathan Schultz (born 23 April 1982,

Welkom Welkom () is a city in the Free State (province), Free State province of South Africa, located about northeast of Bloemfontein, the provincial capital. Welkom is also known as Circle City, City Within A Garden, Mvela and Matjhabeng. The city' ...

, Free State) is a South African visual artist residing in the United States. Schultz works with mediums such as precious metals and stones, as well as paint and resin.

Early life

Johnathan Richard Schultz was born on 23 April 1982 in

, Free State, South Africa.

Career

Schultz works with materials such as platinum, gold, silver, diamonds, resins, paint, and historical artifacts, alongside repurposed ready-mades. Unlike traditional gold leafing, his method involves layering multiple coats, sometimes as many as four to five, enhanced with a unique clear coat to amplify light and luminosity. Floral motifs are used in Schultz's work, often juxtaposed with precious metals. Schultz's influences include

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

. In 2024, Schultz authored ''The Gilded Truth: Manifesto of Unyielding Defiance''. His studio, the Foundry, is located in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, Nevada. Schultz's artwork is owned by art collectors and others, such as Bill Foley, Kevin O'Leary, Chef Gordon Ramsay, Cindy Crawford, Michael Chow (Mr. Chow), Chef Todd English, Rashad Jennings, The Black Eyed Peas, Matthew Judon, Louis Oliver, Christian Siriano, DJ Black Coffee, Taylor Fritz, Aaron Donald, Hannah Waddingham, Udonis Haslem, Rob Lowe, Sir Rod Stewart, Charles Woodson, Gil Dezer, Marc Anthony, Shania Twain, and Robert De Niro.

Notable artwork

*"Out of the Darkness" (2021): Inspired by

's fingerprint on his arrest warrant, this piece features over 9,220 diamonds (895 carats) set in 18kt white gold. The diamonds, round brilliant G/H color VS+ clarity, explore the interplay between light and dark. *"Refraction of a Legacy" (2021): A 10 ft. x 10 ft.

chandelier A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now inca ...

made of five rings, each moving in the opposite direction. Crafted from historic fence material from Robben Island, South Africa, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, this chandelier is adorned with 2,684 round brilliant cut diamonds (201 carats) set in 14kt white gold, symbolizing struggle and truth in South Africa's history. *"Window to Life" (2024): A 3D lightbox installation debuted at Schultz's solo exhibition "Follow the Flowers" in Las Vegas. The piece features a salvaged window from Mandela's boarding school, with hand-painted interior walls lit from within. *"Ordinal Diamonds , Inscribed Perfect Palinception 997,999,979,999,799" (2023): An inscription on

Bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...

, executed in 2023 and sold by

Sotheby's Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...

on March 5, 2024.Sotheby's

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schultz, Johnathan Living people 1982 births 21st-century South African male artists South African expatriates in the United States