Jeff Abbey Maldonado

Jeff Maldonado lives and works in Pilsen. He has maintained his studio for the past 20 years.

He studied under Mario Castillo, professor at Columbia College, who is credited with painting the first Latino mural in Chicago. Jeff’s work has been shown locally throughout galleries and museums, including the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago Cultural Center, The Field Museum, Chicago History Museum, and the Museum of Science and Industry. Nationally, he has shown in New York City’s Artsforum Gallery and the United Nations Building, Detroit’s Chrysler Building, Indianapolis’ Eiteljorg Museum, in San Antonio and San Diego, and at Arizona State University, among other galleries. Internationally, he has been included in gallery exhibits in Acapulco, Chiapas, Mexico, Paris, Istanbul, Montreal, and Nicaragua.

Jeff has served on the Advisory Committee for Chicago Artists Month for two years and has served as Chief Coordinator for 18ST: Pilsen Open Studios for four years, managing this two-day art walk event. He has been interviewed and featured in print and news media including the Chicago Tribune, Museums Chicago, and many others, and has been interviewed on local and international TV channels. He is the recipient of three “Governor’s International Artist Exchange Program Grants”, in 2002, 2008, and 2009. His most recent painting commission was for the Keanu Reeves film 47 RONIN.

Important to Jeff is working with youth throughout Chicago. For 20 years, he has worked in many schools as an artist-in-residence, teaching painting, printmaking, and mural making. Currently, he is Founder and Director of the J-Def Peace Project.

See photos from one of Jeff’s Urban Gateways programs:

Communities Take Colorful Form at St. Elizabeth School