Jim Avignon - Permanent Jetlag

Permanent Jetlag

Urban Spree Galerie

Opening Reception: 30.06.2017 at 19:00

Exhibition: 01.07.2017 – 23.07.2017

Urban Spree is proud to invite you to a special summer program around the Berlin-based artist Jim Avignon.

In the first part, Urban Spree Galerie will show “Permanent Jetlag“, a new solo show by Jim Avignon, his first exhibition since 2 years in the german capital. The Opening Reception will be on Friday, June 30th and the exhibition will run until July 23rd.

In the second part, “Spectacular” is a special music festival over 4 days designed & curated by Jim Avignon, Urban Spree, and Sylvie Astii with live performances in the Galerie on a custom-built stage designed by Jim and in the Concert Room. The Festival will be on July 5th to July 8th.

The exhibition “Permanent Jetlag” and the music program “Spectacular” illustrate and combine the two facets of Jim Avignon, a recognized visual artist, musician and performer through his moniker Neonangin.

Jim Avignon is a painter, illustrator and conceptual artist. Always ready to confront the establishment he is torn between pop art, street art, Picasso on acid or simply being the fastest painter in the world. His signature style consists of vivid colours, a biting humor, unpretentious materials and a mind numbing output.

Jim Avignon’s exhibition „Permanent Jetlag“ at Urban Spree Galerie is about the balancing act of virtual life and real life. He depicts how the internet and social media have gradually changed society, and he also addresses man’s tragic, and often comical attempts to keep up with technology. On one hand the world is getting smaller yet in our minds it keeps getting bigger, making it difficult to be everywhere at the same time.

Avignon’s narrative motives are a potpourri of political and societal topics, art, pop culture and characters from fairytales and fables. His paintings serve as a stage for diverse protagonists from figuration, cartoons, anime and a fantasy world. Animals embody the human condition while the unknown lurks behind a façade of cheerfulness.

In Avignon’s fantasy world interchangeable freaks from the catalogue of postmodern society stand around, as their lively inanimate facial expressions reveal a mix of emotions, boredom, indecisiveness and resignation.

Sampling, cover versions and epiphenomena, like gamification, are central concepts in his creative work, they are references to the conflicting poles of visual art, music, mass media and the industry.

Jim Avignon curated a music festival that will happen alongside his exhibition „Permanent Jetlag.” Longtime comrades will perform in the middle of the exhibition space. Jim Avignon created a stage specifically for this occasion. The entire show will be transformed into a walk through installation.

Jim Avignon has been living and working in Berlin for more than 20 years. In the 1990s he adorned clubs with his decorations and became known as the ‘painter of the techno scene’. In 2013 he unleashed controversy when he staged a flashmob to paint over his landmark mural on the East Side Gallery without permission. Velocity and change have always been key issues in his creative work. The title of one of his first exhibitions was “highspeedworld.” In 1993 he already titled a painting “spoilsport in the internet.”