Artist Statement
My artwork uses a tableaux style to present quasi-historical/religious and quasi-autobiographical narratives. I approach topics such as abuse,drug addiction, and depression as a way of rationalizing forces out of my control.
My recent work has involved the use of Kinetic toys, Appropriating their moments and transforming them with foam clay, paint and lighting, turning them into my own psychedelic “life forms”, free to roam around in their environments. I like using these pre-existing forms almost like a ‘sample’ in a music piece. Even after being altered the original structure is always present. I am interested in how this alters my aesthetic, giving up some control, working with what I can find and so the pieces can function. This results in visual ideas that I would not come up with on my own. This has forced me into a new conceptual territory.
A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Jon Read graduated with a BFA in Painting from Kent State University in 2000 and His MFA at the University of Houston in 2018. Read’s experience ranges from formal training in religious art working as a production artist for the Catholic Church where he made large scale statues, icons, and shrines, to working as a concept artist for various TV and film projects. On the performance stage, Read is known as The Wiggins, a one man band crafting music that has been described as having and “end of times” sound, fusing rockabilly guitar riffs, punk rock overdrive, and heavy hip-hop beats.