Julian Jamaal Jones is a quilter, painter, textile artist, and educator born and raised in Indianapolis, IN. Jones earned his Bachelor’s degree in Photography in 2020 from the Herron School of Art + Design (Indianapolis, IN) and a Masters in Photography in 2022 from Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI), under the tutelage of Chris Fraser. Jones was awarded ArtConnect’s “Artist to Watch” in 2022, the recipient of the 2022 Playground Emerging Artist Fellowship, supported by the Knight Foundation and the recipient of the prestigious Museum Purchase Award from Cranbrook Art Museum in 2022.
Julian has exhibited with Jac Forbes Contemporary (Los Angeles, CA), Chilli Art Projects (Mayfair, LDN), Blue Spiral 1 Gallery (Asheville, NC), Playground Detroit Gallery (Detroit, MI), Soft Times Gallery (San Francisco, CA), Weinberg/Newton Gallery (Chicago, IL), and Grand Valley University Art Gallery (Grand Rapids, MI) to name a few. Forthcoming exhibitions include Tube Factory Museum (Indianapolis, IN) Jones’s 1st solo exhibition in his hometown (Indianapolis, IN) in 2024, Pacific Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum (La Conner, WA) group exhibition “Shift Change” in 2024 and a solo exhibition at the Northwest Quilt & Fiber Arts Museum (La Conner, WA) in 2025. Jones's textile works are in the permanent museum collections of Cranbrook Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills, MI), Richmond Art Museum (Richmond, IN), and the Book Tower (Detroit, MI).
Jones memorializes Black culture by presenting fresh perspectives while presenting creative freedom within traditional landscapes. His unique practice communicates through the historical language of African American quilting tradition by implementing abstract forms and vibrant colors in his works to bypass the preconceptions and open conversations around his Black experience.