*Discovery, 2017
Acrylic on canvas, signed, dated, titled and located on reverse
Acrylic on canvas, signed, dated, titled and located on reverse
134 x 107 cm
52 3⁄4 x 42 1⁄8 in.
PROVENANCE
Galerie David Pluskwa, Paris
Private collection, Switzerland
JonOne
John Andrew Perello, known as JonOne, was born in Harlem in 1963. Family and school difficulties push him to leave his home. He discovered graffiti at the age of 17. As he began to tag his name in the streets and in the subway trains, he met A-One (or Anthony Clark), close to Basquiat, with whom he learned to consider his work as art, and not vandalism. This was a real revelation for street art. According to JonOne, the subway becomes a museum that crosses the city. He sees a shimmering trail of colour and speed left by the train. For the young JonOne, his mentor A-One represented a link between the world of the street and that of contemporary art.
A few years later, the young man founded 156 All Starz, a collective bringing together several graffiti artists. Taking the name JonOne, the artist moved to Paris in 1987, where he began to paint on canvas. Self-taught, he managed to raise graffiti to the rank of fine art. His painting, which he defines as "abstract expressionist graffiti", pays particular attention to movement and colour, and his works are quickly exhibited in Paris, but also in Tokyo, Monaco, New York and Hong Kong.
If JonOne's first tags are similar to simple egocentric and raw assertions, they gradually give way to invasive and organic frescoes in a total appropriation of the walls. The paintings we present illustrate his vibrant talent in a discipline that has transcended artistic genres.
We use cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience, perform site traffic analysis, and deliver content and advertisements most relevant to your interests.
Cookie management:
By allowing these cookies, you agree to the deposit, reading and use of tracking technologies necessary for their proper functioning. Read more about our privacy policy.