JONONE
John Andrew Perello, known as JonOne, is a graffiti artist born in the Harlem ghetto of New York in 1963.
At the age of 17, he began his graffiti journey. As a hidden writer on the A train subway line in New York, John, now JonOne, founded the renowned international collective 156 All Starz in 1984, with the support of a handful of graffiti activists. During these early years, he crossed paths with the French artist Bando, who immediately invited him to Paris.
The artist then roamed the streets alongside the pioneers of the French hip-hop movement and started producing paintings in a studio set up at the Hôpital Éphémère. His works were exhibited by Agnès b., Willem Speerstra, Magda Danysz, Marcel Strouk, and David Pluskwa.
His canvases have also been showcased in Tokyo, Monaco, New York, and Hong Kong. Whether in the underground metro tunnels or the light-filled galleries, Jonone wholeheartedly embraces his connection with France and has never left the territory. He continues to reside in Paris to this day.
He is currently considered the most significant active abstract expressionist artist emerging from the graffiti world.
