Fri 4 Nov 2022 to Fri 2 Dec 2022
Artist: Jon Key
6830 Santa Monica Boulevard, CA 90038 Jon Key: Suits Me
Tue-Sat 11am-6pm
Steve Turner presents Suits Me, a solo exhibition by Jon Key that features his first textile works and photographs alongside a selection of new paintings that focus on the artist’s distinctive sartorial splendor.
Added to list
Done
Removed
According to Key, the suit stands in as an armor of agency, self-expression and protection. The violet threads weave together family histories, secrets, and love.
A community is stitched into these suits. A layer of protection is embedded in these suits. So too are coded messages that mean something to those who understand the language. I first depicted a violet suit in a painting in 2016. By creating an actual violet patterned suit now, whether you find it garish or tacky, eccentric or Queer, I want you to notice it. It shines. It reflects. It absorbs. It deflects. You will see it.
I did not choose to wear this suit. I was born with it. I was born with dark violet skin. Strange. As I matured, my shirt sleeves and pant legs took form. As my heart grew large, violet veins stitched and weaved bespoke. A gift.
Jon Key (born 1990, Seale, Alabama) earned a BFA at Rhode Island School of Design (2013) before moving to Brooklyn where he began developing his studio and design practices. He has had solo and two-person exhibitions at Carl Freedman Gallery, Margate (2022); Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2019, 2020 & 2021); Rubber Factory, New York (2019) and The Armory Show, New York (2020). Suits Me is Key’s third solo exhibition at Steve Turner.
Courtesy of the artist and Steve Turner, Los Angeles