First and Last Name
Professor
Class
November 8, 2023
Jonathan Lyndon Chase
Jonathan Lyndon Chase challenges contemporary visualization of queer Black men using vivid, gestural portraits. Originating from Philadelphia, Chase has become famous for his cartoony to realistic portrayals of the Black male body. The artist received his Master in Fine Arts (MFA) in 2016 from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), a school known for not following the traditions or conventions of formal academic systems. In his artwork, Chase uses various materials, including grooming products, wall paint, bedsheets, and kitchen clothing. The artist’s diverse approaches seek to achieve authenticity while promoting open discourse about the Black queer experience. Although Jonathan Lyndon Chase has a soft and goofy personality, his figurative paintings are intense and intimate, generating the right amount of public controversy and debate about Black, queer domestic relationships.
Chase’s multidisciplinary artwork ranges from drawings to poetry and digital collages. Critics and audiences of the artist believe his artistic style resembles that of Nicole Eisenman and Carroll Dunham (Gerwin). The shared style entails using a single canvas with several images mirroring each other, reaching for or touching each other. The approach gives the painting several layers, allowing it to have the necessary roughness to inspire responses from audiences (Turri). Layering is Chase’s strategy to represent Black queer subjectivity. The floating heads and bodies often overlap with ambiguous and colorful backgrounds in the same way the Black queer experience overlaps with contemporary issues, such as racism and class inequality.
Chase’s artworks inspire people to reflect and imagine the many ways they can exist. The artist’s paintings are constructed by combining personal experiences with family and friends with fantasy (Sargent). Most of the male figures are individuals Chase has lusted after in real life. For instance, Sssh 2019 is a mundane depiction of a metaphorical Menage, a Trois (Sargent). The gesture affirms the artist’s honest perception of the Black gay community. Chase strives to unravel two sociocultural walls simultaneously. The first is the false representations of the African American male, and the second is the poor conceptualization of the queer experiences within the Black society (Sargent). A more vivid understanding of Chase’s social messages is seen in his Big Wash: A Conversation exhibition.
Big Wash is a creative central space that resembles an American 70s laundromat. The exhibition even replicates the black and white tiled floor, with soft sculptures for sinks, two yellow-painted washing machines and three laundry carts (Duron). The carts are linked by a long white string that holds boxer shorts. Chase chose the laundromat because the social space struggles to balance the public and the private (Duron). The artist wants the viewer to reflect on their feelings when traversing different social spaces. Big Wash allows viewers to develop a more empathetic perception of the Black queer experience.
Jonathan Chase reinforces the principle of individualism in his artwork. The artist recognizes the significance of self-expression and intimacy in developing personal identities. Chase illustrates individualism through illustrations of Black and homosexual relationships. Chase demonstrates that individual languages of caring traverse across different media, meaning society cannot estrange Black queer men from expressing their experiences. From simple prints on bedsheets to complicated recreations of public space, Chase is helping Black culture move away from normative representations. Jonathan Lyndon Chase will remain at the core of the contemporary art scene as he tries to help people understand the misunderstood urban landscape and diversity of intimate domestic relationships.
Works Cited
Duron, Maximiliano. “Jonathan Lyndon Chase uses Art as a Tool for Transformation and Healing.” Art News, 22 January 2021, www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/jonathan-lyndon-chase-fabric-workshop-1234581962/. Accessed 23 June 2022.
Gerwin, Daniel. Jonalthan Lyndon Chase: Sheets. Brooklyn Rail. August 2018, https://brooklynrail.org/2018/07/artseen/JONATHAN-LYNDON-CHASE-Sheets, Accessed 23 June 2022.
Sargent, Antwaun. “Jonathan Lyndon Chase is Painting Black Male Homosexuality in All its Stark, Loving Glory. At Last.” GQ, 22 October 2019, www.gq.com/story/jonathan-lyndon-chase-profile. Accessed 23 June 2022.
Turri, Scott. “Public and Private Bodies: Jonathan Lyndon Chase.” Bomb, 29 April 2021, www.bombmagazine.org/articles/public-and-private-bodies-jonathan-lyndon-chase-interviewed/. Accessed 23 June 2022.