Constantly evolving, this artist, who moved from the street to the canvas, from New York to Paris, from spray can to brush, from acrylic to oil, is considered today as an abstract expressionist painter, even if he remains unclassifiable, untameable freedom above all...
After a first monographic exhibition at the Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez in 2015, the "King of Harlem" is back in Bordeaux for a new major exhibition at château Labottière, entitled "Free Spirit". Dominican-born New Yorker John Perello, aka JonOne, is an iconic figure in the graffiti world. Constantly evolving, this artist has gone from the street to the canvas, from New York to Paris, from spray can to brush, from acrylic to oil, and is now considered an abstract expressionist painter, even if he remains unclassifiable and untameable, freedom above all...this is what drives him from the very beginning, when, with spray can in hand, he tags his name all over the city. This freedom, this spontaneity of gesture in his artistic expression, will never leave him. His painterly soul soon set him apart from other graffiti contemporaries, as he never allowed himself to be confined by codes and began his path towards abstraction, giving free rein to his freestyle in vast urban spaces. His painting led him to conquer the canvas, searching for his relationship with the surface, following in the footsteps of american artists such as Pollock, de Kooning, Sam Francis and Motherwell.
The writing of his name, the starting point of many of his creations, is repeated ad infinitum, notably in the "Punishments" series of paintings, but also in his most recent oil paintings. His name becomes almost illegible, disappearing at times to the point of becoming an abstract motif, giving way to a new experimentation with color and material. Splashes, drips, drippings, between accident and mastery of gesture; vibration of vivid colors imbued with caribbean culture, abstract forms, etc. her painting is sensual, intuitive and always arouses strong emotions, made up of joy, rage, sometimes gentleness, in search of a certain balance, a certain wisdom but where we always find the same energy. The power of bodily expression, the compositions of his canvases evoke a musical rhythm like a free-jazz improvisation. The "Free Spirit" exhibition will present a retrospective of emblematic works from the 90's to the present day. Paintings, drawings, videos and sculptures from private collections, including those of Bernard Magrez and Willem Speerstra, retrace the artist's eclectic and prolific career. In residence at the Institut, JonOne takes over the premises, creating original works and installations for the occasion, a veritable dialogue between his art and the château's sublime exhibition spaces.
© Florence Christ / © Speerstra Gallery
