Jonas Ranson

Jonas Ransons, a print graduate of the Royal College of Art, is an East London-based artist specializing in Fine Art Practice and silk screen print making. His work, inspired by the 1980s popular culture, explores themes of performance, glamour, and pop culture through vivid, photo-realistic portraits. Rendered classically from the neck up, these portraits embody a retro-futurism style, offering futuristic visions articulated in a retro style, creating a dialogue between the past and the future.

The portraits feature a mix of hard and soft lines, bright colours, and a tension between clear and blurred outlines. Hyper-exposed faces emerge from the background, confined to basic facial features, floating in an undefined time-space. The interplay of elements evokes nostalgia, a yearning for the past, and a vision of a luxurious escapist world.

The works merge various painterly appearances and techniques. The screen print process replicates brush and spray marks, producing a nostalgic art language devoid of genuine historicity. This method of pastiche creatively merges different artistic styles and popular culture elements, challenging the dichotomy between highbrow and lowbrow culture.