Trained as a painter at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Jonathan Maxwell brings an artist's sensibility to his craftsmanship. The creative process drives the designs of his custom furniture, architectural detailing, and the clocks and lamps in his line of furniture accessories.

Though influenced by the art deco era and the industrial age, Jonathan aims for an ambiguous time quality in his work. He combines traditional furniture forms with unexpected materials: concrete, steel, and most of all, industrial artifacts from his native city, Baltimore. Salvaged materials from the industrial landscape catalyze Jonathan's designs; he seldom makes sketches, relying on a painter's thought process rather than a builder's. Each found object, the wear and tear of it's past life, inspires the additional components Jonathan forges and fabricates. Turn-of-the-century machinery and techniques create a unique language of shapes, surfaces and images. In some works the industrial artifacts are given an iconographic treatment. The historical focus celebrates the labor of many forgotten people. In others, the found objects are so assimilated that only close observation reveals the historical elements. But throughout, the element of history helps the created form transcends its functional role. Jonathan relishes the challenge of conveying beauty and grace with industrial materials.