JOHN JODZIO b. 1975
Lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio
"His apocalyptic zaniness is right on the money!" Holland Cotter
New York Times. 2004
Within the work, we witness a truly senseless war. Roving cats and leopards defend their turf against a battalion of advertising mascots. References to pop culture, drug use, gang violence and urban upheaval are abundant, while layers of humor and sarcasm overshadow any premonition of real harm. Slogans promising a better life compete with the visual cacophony of misspelled signage and colorful graffiti. The resulting architectural hodge-podge is reflected in the construction of the work themselves. Built-up, redrawn and collaged, the art speaks not of a history being erased, but rather bricked over, piece by piece.
Inspired by generic advertising mascots, the characters are divided by market demographics; cartoon imagery of cheaper versions of mega-market items crowding bodega shelves and city sidewalks. Arranged in a stream of conscious narrative, they become the home-team protagonists of the city streets. The drawings and paintings are as densely populated as the cities they reference and are fraught with the same internal tensions.
Lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio
"His apocalyptic zaniness is right on the money!" Holland Cotter
New York Times. 2004
Within the work, we witness a truly senseless war. Roving cats and leopards defend their turf against a battalion of advertising mascots. References to pop culture, drug use, gang violence and urban upheaval are abundant, while layers of humor and sarcasm overshadow any premonition of real harm. Slogans promising a better life compete with the visual cacophony of misspelled signage and colorful graffiti. The resulting architectural hodge-podge is reflected in the construction of the work themselves. Built-up, redrawn and collaged, the art speaks not of a history being erased, but rather bricked over, piece by piece.
Inspired by generic advertising mascots, the characters are divided by market demographics; cartoon imagery of cheaper versions of mega-market items crowding bodega shelves and city sidewalks. Arranged in a stream of conscious narrative, they become the home-team protagonists of the city streets. The drawings and paintings are as densely populated as the cities they reference and are fraught with the same internal tensions.
