Jomar Statkun was born in Long Branch, New Jersey in 1972. His official/birth certificate name is Joseph Marino Statkun. “Jomar” is a combination of his two grandfather's first names, Joseph and Marino. It is believed he was born in the same hospital as Bruce Springsteen. He grew up in a small town called Allentown (that's Allentown, New Jersey, not Pennsylvania). He is a quarter Filipino, a quarter Chinese, a quarter Polish, and a quarter Lithuanian. His father used to be a missionary priest, but has since become an atheist, or maybe (how he would see it) a believer in the earth and the universe. Growing up, his greatest mentor was the cosmologist and geologian, Thomas Berry. In high school he had the school record for the 400 meter hurdles at 55.5 seconds. He loved to organize and invent games for his friends in the neighborhood where he grew up. He can play the theme song to E.T. on the piano. He was awarded the Esther B. and Albert S. Kahn award at Boston University where he received his MFA degree. He is a founding member of the project This Red Door. He has worked at Art Crating and Gagosian Gallery. He has been a professor at Columbia University and Pratt Institute and has been a visiting artist at numerous institutions. His work has been exhibited internationally and is part of a number of public and private collections. He can also juggle and do magic.  And when it comes to dance parties, he is known as "DJomar".

​

Jomar currently lives in New York.