Justin W John is an abstract painter whose practice focuses on physical painting and digital media art. He works intuitively, allowing each piece to develop its personality.
“Much of it came out during moments [quarantine] where I could clear my head and just let it flow. Spontaneous motions and gut reactions that resulted in these new mind maps.”
The process of creating these works revolved around the texture formed through a distinct drying process by slowing the regular drying timeline of the acrylic down. Oxygen was added to the dark grey base coat of acrylic, then poured between the canvas and plastic sheeting—restricting air exposure while gravity pulled the paint like taffy. Pockets of air would form and bubble up to escape the pressure eating holes through the paint's skin. Gravity naturally formed organic shapes and creases like the surface of a new moon. Serenely turbulent, the color references grey matter, the undulating waves and ripples of paint echo similar physical characteristics to that of the human brain.
Each piece starts out reminiscent of a Rorschach inkblot test—a dark mass on a white field. A silhouette emerges surrounded by color and space, then joined with random fluid particles and connections. Emoji-like hieroglyphics, doodles, and other brush strokes circle like Tweety birds. Everything is a puzzle piece—the detritus, memories, echoes, and circumstance—edges seal connecting energy to manifest the atmosphere of our reality.
Justin W John is an abstract painter and graphic designer practicing interdisciplinary multimedia art. He utilizes traditional and digital process-based techniques to produce expressionist acrylic paintings.
