Jon Key is a multidisciplinary artist working at the intersection of design, painting and writing. Born in Alabama and currently based in New York, the artist excavates the lineage and history of his identity through four themes: Southern-ness, Blackness, queerness and family. Within his work, the colors green, black, violet and red stand in as foundational pillars for portrayals drawn from both graphic design and personal memory. In addition to being selected for Forbes' 30 Under 30 Art and Style list in 2020 and having served as the Frank Staton Chair in Graphic Design at Cooper Union from 2018 to 2019, Key has presented work at venues such as Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate; Steve Turner, Los Angeles and New York; Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York; and Rubber Factory, New York.
Drawing from an early series of work on paper, Man in the Violet Dreamscape No. 5 depicts a figure seated in a verdant outdoor setting. Key imagined his subject venturing out into an environment intended for rest, relaxation and enjoyment—a safe space filled with flora tied to the Alabama landscape. Recalling the artist's notion of home, the image is defined by visually arresting elements that transform the scene with a dynamic play of shapes and patterns. Rather than using traditional contours and shadows, Key opts to distinguish his subject's limbs and surrounding environment from one another by filling in each with a graphic element of its own. For this edition, the artist will make each print unique by adding hand embellishments including various polka dots, flowers, leaves and patterns over the surface of the image.
Jon Key
Man in the Violet Dreamscape No. 5, 2023
23 x 18 inches
Archival pigment print
Edition of 25 with 5AP + 1PP
Hand-embellished, signed, and numbered by the artist
More