In heartfelt tribute to her late father, Sydnie Raup is putting together a series of exhibitions of Buddhist-influenced artist Jonathan T. Raup’s collected artworks and writings. This first ever official show, featuring work created during his time in Northern California during the 1990s, will open in late July.
Jonathan did not leave behind a collected body of work. Three years after his passing in 2020, Sydnie’s aunt began sending his artwork to her. Friends and acquaintances followed suit with art, letters, and poetry created by Jonathan. Built around more than 200 now-catalogued works, with more work surfacing as people who knew him come forward, JTR Studio was created by Sydnie to support, preserve, and exhibit the works of her father.
“Growing up, my father faced hurdles and a different perspective. At Moorestown Friends private high school in New Jersey, he had a teacher and mentor who introduced him to the principles of Buddhism, which helped him come to terms with certain ways of the world,” Sydnie Raup told 48hills.
As Zen Buddhism and Taoism became prominent in his life, he began incorporating Sumi-e (Japanese ink painting) into his art practice. Experimenting with ink washes, Jonathan created artworks to mirror the natural landscape he admired so deeply.
“A principle in Zen Buddhism, called ‘one time, one meeting,’ reminds us that everything in life is continuously changing. This impermanence is seen in multiple ways in my father’s artwork. He allowed the ink to make the decisions—just as he led his life—understanding that everything will unfold as it’s meant to,” Sydnie said.
Jonathan T. Raup was born in 1962, the youngest child of three, and raised in New Jersey. He dropped out of high school the end of his junior year, got his GED shortly thereafter, and attended Temple University in Philadelphia as a student of Fine Arts and English. He wrote poetry in his free time, publishing twice in the Community College Poetry Contest, placing first and second. In 1994, Jonathan moved to California, staying with a close childhood friend.
“This relationship was significant. They would ‘Grateful Dead’ together and help each other out. He gift this friend with artwork and letters over nearly 40 years; she referred to my father as a deep thinker, an intelligent, kind, and emotionally generous person.” Sydnie said.
Jonathan was married and divorced twice and had two daughters from his second marriage; Simone and Sydnie, 18 months apart. After a divorce in 2005, life became increasingly difficult for Jonathan. He found purpose in his relationship with his daughters, however, and struggled through his lowest lows with them in mind as a driving force and motivation towards wellness.
When his mentor died unexpectedly in 2013, Jonathan returned to New Jersey for a brief time to learn more about his passing and to heal the deep loss of his treasured friend.
“My sister and I both remember vividly at ages 11 and 12, our father kneeling down at our feet with tears forming in his eyes, saying that he has to go away but it won’t be forever,” Sydnie said.
When Jonathan returned to California, Sydnie recalls having less time with her father.
“Every morning we had together was short. He drove us in his maroon Honda, filled with coffee cups, to the same place: Hardcore Espresso on Gravenstein Highway in Sebastopol. It always smelled like dark roasted coffee and early morning mist,” Sydnie said.
She distinctly remembers sitting in silence with him on the white porch swing in front of the coffeehouse; pink, yellow, and white flowers—the first Venus flytraps she had ever seen—growing around them.
“My father would sit and sip, and I would stare down at the beat-up concrete holes filled with coffee, oil, and rainwater. He was able to simply sit with me, a very shy child, to hold space with me without even uttering a word. Somehow, he knew that’s exactly what I needed,” Sydnie said. “My father held space for others. A thoughtful and philosophical man, he made sure, no matter his state of being, that he would put others first. Those moments I hold incredibly deeply in my heart.”
Memories of her father live on in other ways. From an early age, Sydnie remembers, she and her sister were encouraged to keep creating “in every shape possible.”
“He taught us to let creativity flow out of our hands, and that there are no corrections to be made in artwork.”
In the ensuing years, Sydnie and her sister did everything they could to remain connected to their father, from emailing and calling him often, to pleading with their mother for more visits with him.
Returning to live in New Jersey in 2018, Jonathan continued to create poetry and art through the last few years of his life even as his cognitive abilities declined. Jonathan T. Raup died on his birthday on November 23, 2020.
Through JTR Studio, an introductory exhibition of Jonathan’s archive will open for two days on Sat/18 from 6pm–9pm at an artist studio in Potrero Hill. (The venue address will be shared via RSVP on Eventbrite.)
“I’ve been moving toward this for a long time. Longer than the project itself. It’s not just a launch for me, it’s something I’ve been carrying since I was young. This is my effort to remain connected with my father and to regain closeness to him,” Sydnie said.
Spanning decades working in Sumi-e, charcoal, pen, and pencil, Jonathan never sold his work or exhibited publicly but gave away most of his work as a gesture of good will. JTR Studio will continue displaying Jonathan’s art with future exhibitions to extend his reach, tell his story, and broaden his legacy.
“My father loved and cared deeply. For the JTR Studio project, I have collected dozens of letters expressing his admiration of friends, his family, and other loved ones. He would draw and paint as a way to share a piece of himself with others,” Sydnie said
In the midst of this great tribute, if her father could express his gratitude, he just might echo a sentiment from an email he wrote to Sydnie years ago:
“I’m way too far away, but you are still near me in my heart. Love you, Papa.”
For more information, visit the JTR Studio website or Instagram page. Donations to the project are greatly appreciated.
