ABOUT
from Narc magazine:
"JOHNNYX’S VIBRANT COLLAGE WORKS, MARRY SOCIAL COMMENTARY AND SLOGANEERING WITH A VISCERAL POP-ART AESTHETIC"
In tumultuous times, the urban environment often manifests the most incisive commentary. The student riots of May ’68 proffered the timeless aphorism: Be Reasonable, Demand the Impossible; which later became Malcolm McLaren’s raison d’etre during punk. In this spirit, Johnnyx’s upcoming two-day show entitled Final Countdown at Newcastle’s B&D Gallery on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th October promises a similarly critical intervention into quotidian.
‘Johnnyx’ sounds a suitable soubriquet for a masked-crusader of the night; one hell-bent on fighting the terror of postmodern alienation through waging war on the vacuous talking heads of popular culture. Appropriately, then, his vibrant collage works marry social commentary and sloganeering with a visceral pop-art aesthetic indebted to Warhol and his Factory coterie, recalling too, Jamie Reid’s biting Anarchy-era artworks.
These punk assemblages employ the techniques of détournement and bricolage to create a “textured, multi-layered information aesthetic”, exploring themes ranging from environmental concerns to trade wars. For those seeking an ailment to the impending clouds of disillusionment that befall us, or those simply wiling to revel in the madness of our times, join Johnnyx in fatalistic glee in counting down the final hours of the doomsday clock
JAMES F ANDERSON, OCTOBER 9TH, 2019
Highlight list of recent shows and events:
"Final Countdown" Solo Show. B&D Galleries, Newcastle. November 2019. Show of new works from 2019.
"Make Print Great Again" Vane Gallery Newcastle. Introduced works Bananapocalypse, Tick Tock and Vanilla Guerrilla. September 2019
Gallagher and Turner Gallery - Summer Exhibition. Introduced the work "The New World" .August 2019
"Please Stand By" Solo Show. B&D Galleries, Newcastle. April 2019. Hugely successful show of new works and from 2018. Introduced many new collectors to the work, was mentioned by Narc magazine and the Crack.
Print Show "Not just for Christmas" Dec 2018 at Incubate Experimental Print exhibition space. Introduced 'Lotto' and 'Madhouse' prints.
GetNorth "How was it for you?" October 2018 Print exhibition at Incubate Print Newcastle. Introduced JohnnyX works "Northern Hope" and "World of the Gods"
Helium Gallery London September 2018. Charity event. JohnnyX print on concrete raised £1000 for Rett.uk
August 2018: Summer Exhibition - Manchester. Part of the Castle Galleries IN:SIGHT competition. Finalists' winning artworks revealed at the Summer Exhibition in Manchester.
November 2017: First Bowie, now This! Group exhibition at Berwick Arts Gymnasium Gallery. "John Harrison brings a deconstructional lens to the systems of diplomacy, discourse, and commodification at work within contemporary politics"
October 2016: Empathy Tower. Newcastle Upon Tyne - Northumberland St Performance.
links:
June 2017: Empathy Tower article 3rd Dimension magazine
October 2016: narc magazine
October 2016: www.chroniclelive.co.uk
October 2016: Interview Spice FM