Josh Longo is making the artwork of a master. His new work will be shown in a show titled "Hypnagogia"at Wayfarers studio workshop in Brooklyn mid March. If you've been following Josh, you've seen his work developing over the years and he has been busy as a bee since 2003 when he graduated from the Pratt ID Program. He's taught in the Pratt ID dept., created feature figures for television commercials, collaborated with another one of my favorite designer/sculptor ID alums, Ryan Rutherford to create the "Brungo", see below;
and has had a recent show of his developing cast figures in "(In)action figures at the Clutter Gallery in Beacon this past year, among many other goings on, including international and national exhibitions over the years.
If you know Josh, the info in his press release pulls back a lightly veiled curtain from which Longoland can more clearly be understood;
Hypnagogia is the experience
of the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep.
"Large black balls of
energy float above my head, infested monsters growfrom the walls, dimensional
gateways appear, once inanimate objects start walking, crawling, breathing... I
experience extremely powerful visions during the night. Often these visions are
harmless; they ignore me, survey my room, have sex outside the windows, or
organize my things into piles. On occasion, I get visits from very powerful
beings who generally wake me by calling my name and threatening my existence
before retreating through inter-dimensional portals in the closet. I have
received countless visits like these since I was a child, but my memory of them
has gotten more vivid as I've gotten older. The best way todescribe the
intensity of these experiences is to compare them to the deep understanding of
personal flight immediately after a dream of flying.
Although these experiences
have always had a profound influence on my work, this is the first time I have
tried to capture the innocence, the curiosity, and the intensity of the visions
through sculpture. While the painting is more of an intended visual
representation, the sculpture isthe result of a year of experimentation and
unconscious improvisational response to the material."
Joshua Ben Longo graduated in 2003 with a
bachelor’s degree in Industrial Design from Pratt Institute. He often wakes up
to night terrors or visions of space/time portals in his closet. Hespends the
majority of his time making sculpture, painting, and conducting experiments in
his studio. The results of those efforts have been exhibited in Paris, Berlin,
Antwerp, and across the United States. When not hallucinating or making art, he
runs creative workshops, participates in design lectures, and consults for
creative agencies big and small. He believes in magic and would love nothing
more than to go to outer space.
Wayfarers is a studio program and exhibition space
dedicated to creating a community of makers who will champion each other, but
also hold each other’s feet to the fire. We host exhibitions, critiques,
drawing parties, group shows, live music, experimental performances, puppetry
projects, readings, workshops, video screenings and other inventive events.
They are usually open to the public, almost always cheap or free and designed
with the same championing/feet scorching spirit in mind.
Wayfarers is located at 1109 Dekalb Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11221, and
is open Sundays 1–5
pm, or by appointment.
Josh noted when I asked him about his current experience in creating work:
"There is not much to add except I have come to a point where Im just making art for the sake of making art. IM trying to understand myself, the people around me, and out place in the universe.....Working gives me clarity and peace. "
This too is the insight of a master! Long live Longoland!!
