We can call this a new season for Radio Juxtapoz, and Jon Key is the perfect guest. Situating himself between Brooklyn and Margate, UK, Key has a thread through his practice and his life, one that involves family (he is a twin), art, design and adventure. Though his work is focused on the relationships and heritage he is constantly discovering, he is weaving, both through painting and conceptual fashion design, a story about himself. As a Queer Black man originally from the rural town of Seale, Alabama, Key uses greens, blacks, violets and reds to visual speak of his 4 central themes: Southernness, Blackness, Queerness, and Family.
This is where we find Key, on rainy turned sunny day in Margate, at Tracey Emin's TKE Studios where he has a studio space, speaking about his 4 themes, his experiments with landscape painting and why he finds Margate such a special second home for his practice. Key is energetic and thoughtful, full of life and not afraid to let his work move through the centuries.
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The Radio Juxtapoz podcast is hosted by FIFTH WALL TV's Doug Gillen and Juxtapoz editor, Evan Pricco. Episode 116 was recorded in July 2023 in Margate, UK. Follow us on @radiojuxtapoz