Ona'jé (Onaje Grant-Simmonds, b. May 19, 2002) is a Surrealist painter born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. He concentrated in Visual Arts at Brown University in Providence, RI, where he received his AB in 2024. Ona'jé explores the dualities of the mind and experience in paintings that merge abstraction with naturalism. Ona'jé has exhibited in solo shows in Brooklyn and Providence, as well as group shows at prestigious venues including kurimanzutto, SoMad, All Street Gallery, the New York Academy of Art, WhiteBox, the RISD Museum, Brown University, and the Providence Art Club. Ona'jé has a list of publications, including New York Magazine’s The Cut and Yale’s The PERCH. His exposure to the New York art community growing up and to Buddhism has instilled in him a life-long fascination with painting and the mind. In recent years, Ona'jé has expanded his scope of the world through various ventures, including a meditation retreat at Gomde California in 2023 and 2024, a study abroad program in Florence in 2023, a stay in Spain in 2025, and his upcoming residency in Chautauqua.
Education
Brown University, 2024. AB. Providence, RI
Exhibitions
• 2026: A Bag to Breathe Into. SoMad. New York, NY
• 2025: Art Party & Auction. kurimanzutto. New York, NY
• 2025: A Room of Ideas. Temple Gallery. New York, NY
• 2025: Have a Good One!. Whitebox. New York, NY
• 2025: Seeing What Isn’t There. All Street Gallery. New York, NY
• 2024: Unfolding Roots. L’appartement 49c. New York, NY
• 2024: Greenpoint Gallery Group Exhibition. Brooklyn, NY
• 2024: Commencement Exhibition. List Art Center. Providence, RI
• 2024: The Basement Paintings. List Art Center. Providence, RI (Solo show)
• 2023: Syracuse Florence Student Exhibition. Florence, Italy
• 2023: Brown University’s 43rd Annual Student Juried Exhibition. Juried by Lani Asunción and Xander Marro. Providence, RI
• 2023: Housewarming. Project Space. Providence, RI
• 2023: Pandemonium. List Art Center. Providence, RI (Solo show)
• 2022: Enter Cerebrum. Haus of Gold. Brooklyn, NY (Solo show)
• 2022: Faunal Meditation. List Art Center. Providence, RI (Duo show)
• 2022: New York Academy of Art SURP Exhibition. New York Academy of Art. New York, NY
• 2022: The Black Biennial. RISD Museum’s Gelman Gallery. Providence, RI
• 2022: Scholarship Exhibition. Providence Art Club College. Providence, RI
• 2022: Brown University’s 42nd Annual Juried Student Exhibition. Juried by Wendy Edwards and Jordan Seaberry. Granoff Center. Providence, RI
• 2021: Exhibition at Ashenfelter Slous McDonough & Trevenen, LLP. Montclair, NJ
Awards
• 2024: Roberta Joslin Award. Providence, RI
• 2023: Honorable Mention at Brown University’s 43rd Annual Student Juried Exhibition. Providence, RI
• 2022: Wendy Edwards Fellowship Award. Brown University. Providence, RI
• 2022: Second Place Award for the Providence Art Club College Scholarship Exhibition. Providence, RI
• 2020: Scholastic Art & Writing Awards Silver Key. New York, NY
Residencies:
• 2026: Chautauqua School of Art: Faculty-Led Six-Week Residency. Chautauqua, NY
• 2022: Summer Undergraduate Residency Program at the New York Academy of Art. New York, NY
Publications
• 2025: The PERCH journal, SOCIAL. Yale University’s Program for Recovery and Community Health.
• 2024: Volume XXIV of The Round. https://issuu.com/theroundmagazine/docs/the_round_25_v._5_final
• 2024: “l’appartement 49c: An Interview with Steffie Chau.” Whiteout Magazine. https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/49c-interview-with-steffie-chau/6736
• 2024: “#9 Art I Saved This Week.” Artists Pages. https://www.artists-pages.com/9-art-i-saved-this-week/
• 2022: “Providence Art Club displays works from Rhode Island College Students.” The Brown Daily Herald. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/02/providence-art-club-displays-works-from-rhode-island-college-students
• 2022: “Project Main Green brings live art, music to campus.” The Brown Daily Herald. https://www.browndailyherald.com/article/2022/10/project-main-green-brings-live-art-music-to-campus
• 2020: ”Prospect Park Is the (Only) Place to Be: One October weekend of socially distanced socializing.” New York Magazine’s The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/2020/10/photographs-prospect-park-is-the-only-place-to-be.html
