Jonathan Casella

Rippy Bits

BOZOMAG is excited to announce “Rippy Bits”, an exhibition by Jonathan Casella at our Cresthaven location.

“Rippy Bits” - a presentation by artist Jonathan Casella, is nothing short of a viscerally, immersive experience. The exhibition is anchored by the largest work ever made by the artist - an 86 x 116 inch painting entitled, “Then, From a Waning Sprint, it Became a Walking Opera”.

In the painting, fragmented and energetic images visually ricochet throughout the canvas. These moments of intimacy create a sensory obliteration, leaving space for a bewitching narrative to unravel.  Although never fully decipherable, the viewer cannot help but attempt to make sense of the chaos. Inside jokes, self-referential nods to Casella’s own practice, and renown art works coyly flirt with ideas of appropriation and ownership. Candid photographs meticulously collected of friends and strangers combine to depict a “pictorial microsphere,” an interior brain space of tangibly accumulated inspirations past and present, that function as a living document, intent to immortalize an era.

Casella essentially “tattles” on himself. What if the the sources of your creations — often unknown — were laid bare, instead of shielded from the viewer? Studio sketches, scraps from unfinished works and source imagery personalize Casella’s compositions, creating self-reflexive collage.

Jonathan Casella’s “Rippy Bits” mixes radical vulnerability with a sense of humor, a concoction that can only be equated with the sophistication of existence. His works mirror the complicated nature of real life. Within the gallery, hand-painted, “baby pink” dots appear throughout, inviting whimsy while completely absorbing the viewer into his world. When looking at Casella’s work, one can imagine that the act of creating these laboriously constructed and intricate “silkscreens”— the process utilized by Casella to create this body of work — exists as a physical manifestation and allegory for the cosmic synthesis depicted.

“Rippy Bits” by Jonathan Casella is on view at BOZO Cresthaven with an opening reception Friday, March 1st from 5-8pm. The exhibition will be on view Saturdays & Sundays from 12-5pm thru April 7th, or by appointment via info@bozomag.com