The Fluctuart urban art center is hosting the Carte Blanche exhibition by John Andrew Perello, alias JonOne. This retrospective traces the entire career of this major urban artist through old and previously unseen works, highlighting the various experiments in his creative process.
JonOne is known worldwide for his unique signature style, characterized by a fusion of gestural abstraction and dynamic calligraphy, which he applies to a multitude of media. This monographic exhibition is designed as an immersion into JonOne's work, tracing his artistic and technical evolution.
The exhibition begins with his early experiments, revisits his iconic works, and ends with his most recent productions: a retrospective of his entire body of work that allows visitors to fully appreciate his talent. Famous for his many collaborations with leading brands such as agnès b., Lacoste, Perrier, Bompard, Hennessy, and more, JonOne has produced a multitude of works, a wide variety of which are presented here.
From the New York subway to the international art scene
An artist of Dominican origin, John Andrew Perello, alias JonOne, was born in New York in the 1960s. Growing up in Harlem, JonOne learned his craft by tagging trains and walls in his neighborhood from the age of 17. His work has been exhibited all over the world. His works are clearly influenced by his experiences, marked by hip-hop, the streets, and the subway, as well as by the codes of modern painting. With his innovative style that transcends the rules dictated by graffiti, street art, and urban culture, he creates "freestyle" works without any limits. The freedom he advocates above all else is his sole motto. After moving to Paris in 1987 and frequenting artists of all stripes (Bando, A-One, Psy, etc.), a new conquest began for him: that of the canvas at the heart of the Hôpital Éphémère under the influence of his first patron, Agnès b.
"To have the privilege of walking through the doors of JonOne's studio and seeing him paint is a moment of absolute grace. His gestures and the way he applies paint to canvas are without equal. The energy he deploys is at once that of a dancer and a boxer, fluidity in the delivery and violence in the reception of the material towards the support. An invisible, protective force protects him from the onslaught of a merciless outside world. In perpetual motion, the artist is constantly reinventing. The music is there, loud and clear, setting the tempo for a man in a hurry. In a hurry, Jon knows that a single lifetime won't be enough to offer the world the full extent of his talent. There is light in this man".
Biography
Henri Thuaud is one of France's leading urban art figures. Author, publisher, event organizer and fellow traveler of artists such as JonOne, OneMizer and many others. He is also behind the French version of Banksy's Wall and Pièce, entitled Guerre et spray.
Carte Blanche characterizes JonOne's state of mind towards the art market and his philosophy: "Tell me what to do, so I can do the opposite."
This exhibition features a selection of the artist's works, collaborations, editions and various media, in a colorful scenography of over 40 years of production and installation.