Born in 1963 in Harlem, New York, John “JonOne” Perello is an American artist living in Paris for more than twenty years. He is one of the main street-art representatives and precursors. He had an important retrospective at Fondation Cartier in 2009.

For his fourth exhibition with Art Statements in Hong kong, JonOne will exhibit a series of new paintings mixing his trademark compulsive calligraphy with explosive colors.

Since adorning walls and trains with his first graffiti, JonOne has structured his work from the streets of New York to the “limitations” of canvas. He now fancies more brushstrokes than air sprays. However, even though we still see inspirations coming from Jackson Pollock, Sam Francis or even Henri Matisse, the influence of the street is still very much there. His extremely colorful paintings remind us of the frenzy of large cities, of their bright lights and social codes. JonOne’s work is an allegory of the Urban Jungle in which most of us live, but always seen from the optimist and colorful side of life.

-Art Statements

Image: © JonOne
Courtesy of the artist and Art Statements