Jon Young

John Young’s sculptures in wood, sand and iridescent fabric feature symbols from a variety of origins such as Paleolithic cave paintings, Greek pottery and even Looney Tunes cartoons. Reminiscent of the road sign graphics, these bas-reliefs draw on popular imagery of the American West—Americana—and the ideological concept of the frontier, at the crossroads of European invasion and indigenous genocide. Young himself is caught in this duality particular to the American West, born into a military family constantly on the move and deeply affected by the displacement of his Native American cultural heritage.

Shimmering like holograms, Young’s panels flicker with light as the spectator moves through the viewing space. They evoke the effects of irradiation caused by nuclear testing or mirages seen in the desert. They act as both landmarks and lures, sabotaging their own naïve, archetypal imagery and encouraging the viewer to reconsider his or her own place in the illusion of meanings forged by history.

Born in Winston Salem in North Carolina in 1981, Jon Young is a tribal member of the Catawba Indian Nation of Rock Hill in South Carolina. He lives and works in St. Louis Missouri, where he obtained his MFA at the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art at Washington University in 2018. His work has been included in solo exhibitions at J Hammond Projects, London, No Place Gallery, Columbus, Bruno David Gallery, Saint-Louis, Lewis Center, Saint-Louis, Gallery 234, Laramie and THIS Gallery, Laramie. His work has been included in group exhibitions at The Hole, Lewis Center, Carl Kostyál Gallery, Marthas Contemporary, 234 Gallery, F.A.B. Gallery, Hunt Gallery, Flood Plain Gallery and Intersect Art among others.