An Interview with JonOne (Part 3)
“Everybody defines their own way of being an artist. There’s no set rules, what works for you may not necessarily work for me.”
“Everybody defines their own way of being an artist. There’s no set rules, what works for you may not necessarily work for me.”
“I try to express that in my canvas; live life to your fullest. So that’s what I’m trying to do.”
“I felt like I was an outcast in the spectacle of this big city, and the only way of escaping was to paint.”
The ravages of good times were catching up with Richard.
Warhol died. Basquiat died. Haring died. Hambleton fell from the ivory tower. The party was over.
He didn’t sign his name. He left a trail of inspired silhouettes in his footsteps for a signature and indeed we called him “Shadow Man”
“This is about healing. I think ultimately great painting is about healing. Whether it’s yourself or the viewer – and it’s really important to note that a painting doesn’t exist unless it’s got eyes in front of it.”
“I’m not obsessed with making a ‘new’ type of painting, but I am interested in presenting what my interests are to develop a painting that’s intrinsically and closely tied to that individual vision as possible. Because if I’m doing that, it’s going to be new.”
If you look at my work, for the most part, the works are rather large in scale and they’re also very tactical. They’re tough, they’re heavy, and they’re physical paintings. So I always found it kind of a nice juxtaposition when I would go to Los Angeles and see friends and artists out there and shows where it became about light and space.
“Installed right in front of me on the main wall was Robert Rauschenberg’s largest Combine Painting, Skyway, from 1964. And I just had an epiphany. John F. Kennedy was pointing down at me and I just saw my life flash before my eyes. I heard the calling. I was like, I’m going to be a painter. For real, for real, I’m going to go all the way with this, whatever that means.”
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