JonOne - Il faut réagir maintnant, 2019

JonOne / John Andrew Perello

Urban Art, Graffiti

February 23, 2014

American street artist John Andrew Perello, aka JonOne, Jon156 or Jonone, is best known for his signature Abstract Expressionist-styled graffiti. The artist was influenced by works of masters such as Jean Dubuffet and Jackson Pollock, and Jean-Michel Basquiat's early works. JonOne's work has been displayed in numerous cities around the world, including Monaco, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo and New York. Once he began creating paintings on canvas, he began exhibiting his Graffiti-influenced art artworks at Speerstra Gallery in Paris, Gallery Magda Danysz in Shanghai and Kolly Gallery in Zürich.

JonOne - Coffret - Poetry in motion, 2019
JonOne - Coffret - Poetry in motion, 2019. Screen Print; Print on paper; 22 x 26 cm. Courtesy Artstreetgallery

The Urban Jungle

JonOne, born in New York in 1963, is a self-taught artist whose introduction to the art began at an early age on the streets of Harlem, where he would admire tags and graffiti on the city walls and subway cars. JonOne said:

When you walk around, you see the names everywhere. Instead of reading newspapers like everybody else, I'd read graffiti on the streets every morning. I was curious about who was responsible and wanted to do it myself.

In the early days, the artist signed his work with Jon156. JonOne saw subways as museums that travel through the city. He founded a graffiti group 156 All Starz, in 1984, with a goal to bring together fellow artists from the streets and help them stay clear of drug use. In 1987 together with the French artist Bando, he relocated to Paris and began creating works on canvas.

JonOne - Color Impacto, 2005
JonOne - Color Impacto, 2005. Acrylic on canvas; 80 x 84 cm. Courtesy Art Statements

JonOne's Style

While working with the 156 All Starz, specifically his childhood friend White Man, JonOne quickly made a name for himself. His personal style, so different from the conventional figurative graffiti, set him apart from the others. JonOne preferred creating abstract works inspired by the city's energy, colours, and movements. After moving to Paris, the artist's style was not what the French artist expected. JonOne said:

When I arrived in Paris in 1987, people were a little disappointed I came from New York, so they saw me as the representative of New York graffiti. While it's true, I am primarily Jonone and Basta! What I did was not representative of what they could imagine, I was more free, and technically, I was in the imagination.

JonOne - Smoke Screen, 2005
JonOne - Smoke Screen, 2005. Acrylic on canvas; 125 x 100 cm. Courtesy Art Statements

The Exhibitions

Soon after meeting a fellow artist Cornette de Saint Cyr, JonOne began working on the famed painting titled Hopital Ephemere. Soon after, in 1991, JonOne had his first solo exhibition titled GRAFFITISM at the 45 Gleditsch Gallery in Berlin and took part in the group exhibition Graffiti Paris.

What sets JonOne style apart is the constant disregard of the "rules" of graffiti. He prefers a freestyle approach, combining a sense of repetition akin to textile patterns and hand-painted aesthetics in his compositions. He creates a distinctively balanced and dynamic visual experience by carefully layering strokes of vibrant colours. In 2021 the artist had several exhibitions, including #21 Spring at the Rasson Art Gallery, Rock! at the PROVOST HACKER Gallery and Heritage at the Museum of Black Civilizations Dakar, Senegal.

JonOne lives and works between Paris and New York.

Featured image: JonOne - Il faut réagir maintnant, 2019. Print; 80 x 75 x 1 cm. Courtesy Galerie Martine Ehmer

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