TJ Ahearn’s collages are created through a meticulous application of hand-cut imagery from both vintage and contemporary periodicals, books and other printed matter, which is glued onto the back of LP jackets. Most of the albums used date back to the 60s and 70s, and the original vinyl is included with the collaged piece. Ahearn creates imaginary environments through the inventive layering and juxtaposition of both banal and pop culture visual elements. The collages on view are from the artist's ongoing JUKEBOX series.
"The music spanning the Sixties and Seventies in particular, represents a dynamic shift in the cultural strata of western civilization and beyond. Rock and Roll the prevailing musical genre signifying that era remains embedded in our contemporary society -- to the point of banality, as it is often co-opted for TV advertising and mass media. The evocative, imaginary scenes in the collage works are ignited by the spark of the music's intent and flavor-- reflections on concepts of Utopianism, spirituality, gender and identity themes, ecology, war resistance and other issues that continue to be relevant today."
TJ Ahearn lives and works between NYC and Miami. Ahearn attended School of Visual Arts in New York as well as both the University of Miami BFA Program and Miami Dade South Campus Fine Arts Program and Psychopolis Academy in the Netherlands.
The work of TJ Ahearn is in many prestigious collections in the U.S. and abroad and has been exhibited at museums, galleries and art fairs internationally
"The music spanning the Sixties and Seventies in particular, represents a dynamic shift in the cultural strata of western civilization and beyond. Rock and Roll the prevailing musical genre signifying that era remains embedded in our contemporary society -- to the point of banality, as it is often co-opted for TV advertising and mass media. The evocative, imaginary scenes in the collage works are ignited by the spark of the music's intent and flavor-- reflections on concepts of Utopianism, spirituality, gender and identity themes, ecology, war resistance and other issues that continue to be relevant today."
TJ Ahearn lives and works between NYC and Miami. Ahearn attended School of Visual Arts in New York as well as both the University of Miami BFA Program and Miami Dade South Campus Fine Arts Program and Psychopolis Academy in the Netherlands.
The work of TJ Ahearn is in many prestigious collections in the U.S. and abroad and has been exhibited at museums, galleries and art fairs internationally
TJ Ahearn