About Jon
Jon Margo was born in South Africa and grew up on a gold mine west of Johannesburg.
After qualifying in medicine at the University of Witwatersrand and completing his internship, he moved to the UK where he specialised in psychiatry. He has lived in Oxford since 1976.
He retired after working in the NHS for over 30 years in order to devote as much time as possible to painting, something he had hoped to do for as long as he could remember. This was despite having virtually no experience in this field and no practical training at all.
Jon's statement : "In practical terms I am completely untaught as an artist, but I have been interested in art and art history since my early teens. I see my interests as diverse and open minded (but not, I hope, uncritical). Two major preoccupations are, firstly, abstract art - its possibilities and its limitations - and, secondly, art by untaught artists (who, however defined, are at their best able to bring an elemental power to their work which I find arresting and moving). I suspect these preoccupations are evident in my own work, intentionally or otherwise."
Exhibitions
Solo exhibition : Christ Church, Oxford November 2011.
Mixed exhibitions : Quirky Country Gallery, Greyton, South Africa 2014-5 (various).
Christ Church, Oxford ("Hall Portraits") 2014-5.
Works are in private collections in UK, South Africa and North America.