The 2023 Summer Seminar at Torri Superiore - Italy
~ TEACHER BIOGRAPHIES ~
Jonathan Solter
Jonathan Solter is an artist living and working in the Bay Area.
Growing up in the redwood forests of Northern California, he started making art at an early age with the loving support of his family. This began with mazes and labyrinths, leading to the creation of new worlds from both his imagination and the natural environment; and turning more towards Psychedelic art after high school. He then studied a variety of techniques at The California College of Arts, in both the Oakland and San Francisco campuses, before graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Illustration in 2011.
His career in art began with freelance illustration work and the creation of murals in the Bay Area, parallel with teaching mural painting for a non-profit called ArtStart in Santa Rosa, Ca. Soon after, Jonathan Solter became a performance artist in the Bay Area, doing Live Painting and working full time in nightclubs. This quickly transitioned into music festivals around the world, bringing his unique brand of art and Live Painting to thousands of festival-goers and art enthusiasts. In 2014, the artist became involved with the Phaneros Art Collective, now a mobile art gallery that focuses on bringing Psychedelic art to the world.
He joined the faculty of The Vienna Academy of Visionary Art in 2017, teaching the Winter Trimester and guiding the students through their Architecture of the Soul paintings which were exhibited at their popular year-end show.
In collaboration with other artists from around the country, Jonathan Solter has been painting large-scale murals at festivals and events for the last three years. Today, Jonathan Solter’s artwork specializes in unique psychedelic forms such as higher dimensional travel, ancient civilizations and animism. His surreal scenes, beautifully-depicted in glowing colors, hold resonance with psychonauts and transcendental meditators alike.
Website: https://jsolter.com
Instagram: @jonathan_solter
Facebook: TheArtofJonathanSolter
Daniel Mirante
Daniel Mirante is an internationally active painter, explorer and teacher with an interest in symbolism, archetypal psychology, art education and the sacred art traditions. He explores both traditional approaches to art-making and the emerging technology within our contemporary zeitgeist.
Since he was a child, he has held an unwavering fascination with both nature and art. The artist has a BA (hons) of 1st degree in Fine Art. In terms of the craft of painting, he is mainly self-taught. After being introduced to the Mischtechnik by Brigid Marlin in 2008, he assisted Ernst Fuchs In October 2012, becoming his last apprentice. He has also learned much from the painting restorer and conservator at The Victoria and Albert Museum, Timea Tallian, which gave him a footing in traditional old masters techniques. To supplement his understanding of classical methods, he studied the sight-size method at the London Atelier of Representational Art. This investigation lead to him giving a strong re-invigoration to Tempera Grassa painting methods and the development of the Soffio technique.
Daniel believes the circle is complete when experience is transmitted to the next generation. He has led painting seminars around the world, including England (Tobias School for Art Therapy), India (Visionary Art India) and Australia (Art Pilgrim workshops). Daniel is also a founding faculty member of The Vienna Academy of Visionary Art, where he has taught most trimesters, as well as leading The Summer Seminar at Torri Superiore (Visions in the Mischtechnik) in 2016 and 2019.
Daniel has been instrumental in spreading awareness of Visionary Art through his web-portal visionary.art (prior sites include: lila.info and mundusimaginalis.org) as well as through his workshops, lectures and exhibitions.
His work appears in several international collections and is represented by MOVA Gallery (International), Phaneros Gallery (US), Galerie10 (Austria), and NAIA Museum (France). He also embraces new venues of creative expression including Miami Block-Chain Center (US) and leading global culture festivals Burning Man (US), Rainbow Serpent (Australia) and Boom (Europe).
Website: https://danielmirante.com
Website: https://visionary.art
Instagram: @daniel.mirante
Facebook: daniel.mirante
