John ‘Jonone’ Perello – Sounds of Water

Solo show online – 16.01.23 – 28.01.23

John ‚JonOne‘ Perello’s artistic essence lies in the transmission of energy. The Sounds Of Water is the title of the exhibition on view from 19.11. to 03.12.22 at Kolly Galley in Zurich. JonOne’s distinctive and instantly identifiable style is characterised by calligraphy, colour and texture. Together they manifest JonOnes artistic signature on every surface he hits.

Solo Exhibition – John ‘Jonone’ Perello
Location – Online
Dates – 19.11.22 – 03.12.22

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Ephemeral vs Eternal

The works presented in the exhibition show the artist’s energetic, cryptic and polychrome canvases. Multiple layers and thick brushstrokes adorn his large-sized and explosive paintings. Profoundly rooted in the ephemerality of graffiti, he made excellent use of his obsession with tagging: fast, urgent and impulsive. What might appear as abstract lines, cryptic shapes or intentional drips of paint to the viewer, actually represent his own tag ‚JONONE‘, sometimes also in variations as ‚JONONE ROCK‘ or ‚JONONER‘. At a closer look, letters and even his tag are recognizable.

The regularity of repeating his tag over and over again, is not monotonous, in contrary, it is divers, complex and rich. The paintings demonstrate the artist’s facets of proficiency and versatility in his expressive and abstract practice. Eventually the writing develops into an abstract pattern within the beauty of eternity.

JonOne is not a static artist. His artistic practice is always influenced by a lot of movement, which means literally having a physical exhaustion. The impact of the colors must be powerful immediate. For that he must be immersed in his work to the point of drowning himself in his painting. Like painting on trains, painting large formats painting large canvases requires exhausting gestures. The artist is mindful of keeping his body in shape to that very effort and intensity of painting. A similar effect should be transferred to the audience. Perello wishes that his artworks have a physical, emotional and energetic effect on the viewer. This is often proofed by the description, that it is difficult for the eyes to rest on a precise point.

„The condition of being an artist is absolute, one most live it at 200%.“

John ‘Jonone’ Perello, 2022.

The Urgency of Graffiti – the Urgency of Expression

JonOnes art works are vivid, vibrant and brilliant in their color. The continuous superposition of lines lead to the powerfulness of his abstraction. The nearly obsessive repetition of tagging indicates the urgency of expression. It’s all about the gesture, which contains the urban skills and the street knowledge.

Perello’s artworks are not only visually extraordinary and colorfully painted canvases, they carry a unique energy of urgency. The energy, emotion and ambiance in JonOne’s creation process has a direct impact on the viewer. This kind of impact somehow takes us back to Baudrilliard’s observations in Kool Killer (1978), who noticed the urgency of New York residents’ expressions and referred to them as graffiti. Moreover he spoke about the phenomena of homogensiation in city through urban development. The urgency to overcome these limits, to break them up or revolt can be facilitated or made possible through the power of creativity and artistic expression.

In John ‚JonOne’ Perello’s own words; „Let’s say technical methods that shouldn’t be overlooked: repetitive tags, mail tricks, dexterity with spray can or brushes. None of that is a goal in itself, especially when you have a background like mine. That of the street of urgency of graffiti. The skill, the knowledge, and the know-how are essential. The street knowledge. But you have to know how to forget them. To go beyond pure mastery. To leave it aside. That is where everything begins. The artist’s work can only really begin if they manage to free themselves from technique.“ (John ‚JonOne’ Perello’ in JonOne, 2019:27)

Tania Di Brita

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