Jeremiah Ketner (American, b. 1974) is a pop surrealist painter who also makes custom wooden and vinyl toys. His paintings show richly colored environments inhabited by pensive, dreamy young women, painted from memory. He is also known by the online name smallandround, under which he shares new work.
Ketner began formal art studies at the age of 12. He earned a BFA from Columbus College of Art and Design in 1996 and an MFA from Southern Illinois University in 2000. His early work featured mischievous sprites and whimsical patterns. The sprites decorate the walls of Nordstrom department stores in the United States and still inspire his custom toys. Japanese culture, including its fabrics, motifs and gardens, also inspires his work. After a trip to Tokyo he observed that “design in Japan is small and round”. In 2024 he was splitting his time between Illinois and Tokyo.
