Mid-sentence, Jason Myers jumps up from his stool, spreads his arms wide, and begins “painting,” slashing broadly with his arms into the empty space. He’s demonstrating the size of his ideal canvas, which is more or less the breadth of his wingspan.

It’s a little startling, but in retrospect, perhaps what’s more surprising is that Myers has managed to sit still for an hourlong interview. He has the boundless energy of a man younger than his 36 years, a helpful trait as he cultivates the career of a multi-talented craftsman in the tradition of Leonardo da Vinci: custom-furniture fabricator, figural-abstract expressionist painter, printmaker, and sculptor. Oh, and Myers owns downtown’s hottest art gallery. While his name is becoming familiar in the local art and design community, not many people have seen the full range of his creativity. That’s changing.

Myers, a Logansport native, has operated his Stutz II–based furniture business, Myers Design Inc., for eight years. But hardly anyone here knew him—most of his jobs were in Chicago. In the last couple of years, Myers has shifted his focus to the Indy market in order to spend less time on I-65. First, he began working with Indy’s top interior designers to make commissioned furniture for homes. In the spring, he opened Artbox gallery in the Stutz II to increase the visibility of local artists. Then he unveiled his own paintings, along with a pair of sculptures, at his first major exhibition of canvases in six years.

A new deal with Carmel gallery owner and artists’ rep Evan Lurie could expose Myers’ paintings and furniture to a wider, even international, audience of admirers. Myers will take his paintings to Art Basel Miami in December, followed by shows in Atlanta, New York, and Paris in 2009. Lurie sees opportunity—along with its partners, fame and fortune—knocking on Myers’s door.

Myers got his start as an artist in Logansport. He earned an associate’s degree in graphic design from Vincennes University, but had a change of heart after graduation.

Following art school and gallery stints in Kansas City and Washington, D.C., Myers returned to Indiana, drawn back to his roots and his family. While he was exploring the visual arts, Myers worked in the building trades, as do many members of his extended family. In 2001, he established Myers Design. “My company is my ideal job,” he says. “My goal for MDI was to make it successful enough to support myself so I could embrace painting without having to promote myself as an artist at that time.”

By opening Artbox in April, Myers has added another dimension to his resume: gallery owner. “First and foremost, my creative passion is through painting,” he says. “But I saw a need for a venue like Artbox that could display a large body of work by an artist, rather than just four or five paintings. I felt that was something I could add to the Indianapolis market.” Myers tries to show at least 20 pieces from each artist, a luxury he can afford with his 2,600 square feet of gallery space.