Info + Contact
— About
John Dempsey is an artists in Chicago, so is my alias Billy Tokyo
In my paintings I explore a conceptual approach that moves freely between abstraction and graffiti typography. My works celebrates the urban art we see around us everyday that may go unnoticed. I’ve always been in love with “the line” - in urban art it weaves in and out, darts back and forth, and the unexpected twists and turns you don’t find anywhere else. My newest works often incorporate spray paint (sprayed through hand-cut stencils) to create colored geometric shapes, and shapes based on the silhouettes of graffiti lettering. This process is at times mixed with a deluge of layering processes of intuitive mark-making created with acrylic and oil paint to create images that vibrate with unabashed energy. These are fluid paintings that are chaotic yet balanced - grasping influences of oragnic shapes and urban art.
Studying the line movements of "tags" and graffiti lettering lead me to experimentation in my artistic practice and to create works that speak of a current dialogue on the reach of modernist painterly practice. The most elemental aspects of my abstractions are dependent on evincing the feeling of urbanism, controlled chaos and free-flowing grace - giving the viewer a sense of seeing a moment of something beautfiul in mid-creation.
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Born in Evanston, Illinois and raised in the Chicago area. I received an art scholarship by the Woman’s Club of Evanston, and attended Ohio University where I studied art under Aethelred Eldridge. My painting "The Great American Landscape" won first place in Chicago's Art Loop Open - the city's first public voting contest, and a giant check that made me feel like a golf pro. Thanks Chicago! CV upon request.
As Billy Tokyo…
As Billy Tokyo I try to blur the boundaries and styles between East and West art to create highly imaginary worlds. Heavily influenced by Japanese Pop Art and the Chicago Imagists - my Mr. Tokyo uses vivid, flat colors and simplified figures with a sence of humor and social commentary.
Tokyo’s pictorial imaginative works are often packed with information to approach an exuberant visual overload to stimulate the viewer. Characters are often made out of geometric shapes for a diverse approach to the figure, and are sometimes created using hand-cut stencils and spray-paint. Visual languages are borrowed from other cultures and art, high and low, past and present. Billy Tokyo's goal is to create a dialogue between the artwork and the audience with an art style uniquely visually impactful and universal.
Both artists share a studio at:
355 North Laflin Street, Chicago, IL 60607
located in the Fulton Market district
General Inquiries
— I’d love to hear from you