"A lot of what I was seeing from my peers felt like they were trying to figure out how to do what they did in the street on canvas or something. For me, that defeated the whole point. Graffiti is a special and unique thing, but it’s only strong when it’s illegal and in the context of being a criminal act. Painting a thing somewhere it doesn’t belong—that’s where the potency exists. Once you take it out of that context, it’s just kind of ridiculous."
So Jason REVOK said to Juxtapoz in the Winter 2019 issue and on the eve of prepping work for his newest solo show, a return to Detroit and an exhibition at Library Street Collective, depersonalization-derealization. Even when we recently sat down with REVOK for a special edition of the Radio Juxtapoz Podcast, the Los Angeles-based artist was open and honest about his evolution as one of the great ambassadors and influential voices in graffiti to his most personal and experimental studio practice today.
"I think the work I have been making is likely a conscious effort to seek purpose in living or some type of action to practice being mindful and not emotionally and spirituality bankrupt," REVOK says. "The visual language in all of the work is my effort to deal with big existential fears and hopes in the simplest and most immediate language I can come up with.”
As the gallery notes, (Jason) performs with intention, but never quite knows what the end result will be. This distance between the artist and his output promotes criticality and introspection and can cause disconnection, in particular when the routine is repeated day after day in the studio. While early works and exhibitions that focused on Revok’s Instrument Exercises, Tape Loop Paintings, and Spirographs have considered the artist’s early reaction to these tools - the mechanics, aesthetics and process - depersonalization-derealization digs deep to consider the mental, emotional and existential impact of a practice that borders on automation in a climate of severe political disruption.
depersonalization-derealization opens on Saturday, April 6th, 2019 from 6:00PM - 8:00PM at Library Street Collective in Detroit.
