The Women is a collaborative portrait project with the women in my life—family, friends and colleagues. It is a series of some two dozen life-size assemblages & vignettes that reveal the complexity of private and public identity as represented through our material possessions. In November/December 2019 InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia is presenting an exhibition of these works. The Women will gather, displayed together as if at a party—a cacophonous celebration that reflects my specific circle as it invites guests to also examine their own identities.
The works vary widely in their approach. Each begins with a series of private conversations, where I learn more about the subject and we brainstorm visual representations of the different aspects of their lives. The final materials are a combination of pieces that they contribute to the work, and others that I purchase or construct to help achieve the vision.
Some portraits are encyclopedic—with objects and music representing as many aspects of the subjects' lives as possible, stacked and assembled and played en masse. The resulting pieces are exuberant and maximal, with the viewer putting together clues and building an impression as if assembling a jigsaw puzzle.
Others focus more narrowly, telling a specific story that stands in for the whole—a more minimal approach to storytelling, more poem, less novel. The contrast provides formal variety, offers additional hints to personalities, and reflects the evolution of the project over its six year journey.
The exhibition will also include a Charm Bar—an extension of my work as a jewelry designer, and an affordable opportunity for visitors to create a portrait of themselves through their choices and combinations of eclectic and symbolic charms.
John Y. Wind is a mixed media artist, creating narrative portraits, assemblages and installations. His art explores the intersection of art, commerce, portraiture and history. It is fabricated with ephemera and objects collected from his own life and inspired by his obsessions. Wind is also co-founder of Maximal Art Inc, known for 'Modern Vintage' fashion jewelry and gifts, and sold internationally under the John Wind brand. Symbiotically, the language and materials of jewelry often find their way into his fine art.
My Surfboard (The Secret Life of Felix Jesus Consalvos) was part of Wind’s solo exhibition, The Making of a Modern Man, exhibited at James Oliver Gallery in May, 2013. He has exhibited his artwork in solo and group shows in Philadelphia, New York, Miami, and London and is in the permanent collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, Paris, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
John Y. Wind was born in Israel, raised in Philadelphia, and studied at the University of Pennsylvania and the Slade School of Fine Art, London. He has been active in Philadelphia's art scene for many years, serving in leadership roles at ICA, Vox Populi, Arts + Business Council, Fleisher Art Memorial, InLiquid, and now as President of the Dina Wind Art Foundation.
For more please visit www.johnwind.art.
1985
Slade School of Art, London
Certificate
1983
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
BA, English
2015
Slade School of Fine Art, London, England
1983 - 1985
Thouron Award for two years study in the UK
1990
Becker, Vivienne, Fabulous Fakes: The History of Fantasy and Fashion Jewellery, Grafton Books, London
1987
Fitch, Janet, The Art and Craft of Jewelry, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Musee Arts Des Arts Decoratifs, Paris
2024
The Naked Show, InLiquid Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Cool Under Pressure, featuring works by Don Bell and John Y. Wind, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2019
The Women, InLiquid @ Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Lit, Springside, Chestnut Hill Academy, Chestnut Hill, PA
2016
JOG10, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
America, InLiquid @ Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
2015
URBN, Urban Outfitters @ Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA
Trophies and Souvenirs, Camden Art Centre, London, England
2014
Latina's Legacy, Rosemont College, Rosemont, PA
ARTnude, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Select Fair, New York, NY
2013
Select Fair, Miami, FL
Member Exhibition: InLiquid, PPAC, Second State, at Ice Box Project Space and Grey Area, Crane Arts Building, Philadelphia, PA
The Making of a Modern Man, James Oliver Gallery in partnership with InLiquid, Philadelphia, PA
Benefit Exhibition for BalletX, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011
I Shop, Therefore I am, Artfronts Project, Philadelphia, PA
