Lesny JN Felix
Down the Rabbit Hole
Lesny JN Felix is a self-described "one-man factory," a designation that speaks to both his prolific output and his embrace of a unique creative process. His East Harlem studio, a space that functions as both production plant and gallery, offers a glimpse into this process. Dozens of empty plastic yogurt containers, ready for mixing paint, sit alongside a profusion of brushes, jars and tubes of paint, a measuring tape, a large plant, and a pair of headphones, all crowding the tabletops in a landmark brownstone. The walls are almost entirely covered with finished and partially finished works, with the 4 x 6 foot masterpiece, Untitled (Mundus Subterranea) (2012), standing out amidst the "cacophony of color" above an ornate green fireplace. Even a chair bears Felix's imprint: the stuffing in its studded-leather backrest has come out, and he has painted "Austin Powers" in wavy yellow print on the wooden frame, a playful reference to the movie character’s hairy chest. If this chair hints at his humor, the studio's busy state clearly reflects his work ethic.
Seeking to emulate a "well-oiled machine," Felix is fascinated by Andy Warhol’s concept of the Factory. "I have a fascination with Warhol creating paintings that are easy: What does that mean?" he asks, suggesting it’s a form of reverse psychology. By approaching painting as if it were easy, he manipulates himself into working harder to achieve an appearance of effortlessness. Contrary to the notion of factories producing high yields with low quality, Felix sees them as models for how rigorous output leads to superior worth. "Once you know what you want to do," he explains, "you don’t want to waste it if you want to become among the best in your trade. You’re not going to go anywhere by just sitting and thinking about it." He elaborates, "I want to be a factory because when you look at the masters before, they were all workaholics. I would be the factory, but I’d be fascinating like crazy. The Mad Painter,” says JN Felix.
Much like the assembly lines of actual factories, Felix positions himself to perform singular tasks repeatedly. He begins by prepping canvases, one after the other, ensuring that he doesn’t break his concentration to prime a new canvas once he is immersed in his work. Though Felix says he has never heard of the Beat Generation, his preparation is akin to how Jack Kerouac taped sheet after sheet of teletype paper together until he had a 120-foot scroll, allowing him to type uninterrupted for three straight weeks in April 1951. Likewise, after priming multiple canvases, Felix paints ceaselessly. "The first thing Lesny JN Felix does in the morning is paint," the artist says, recalling his time living in Brooklyn from 2008 to 2011. "I would wake up, paint, get tired of painting, then brush my teeth and have breakfast. By then I’m already in a flow.” Even his meals were considered in relation to his painting: the time it took to cook and eat allowed for the paint to dry on the canvas, so that by the time the dishes were washed, he could return to work.
Drying is a crucial part of Felix’s painting process. His works are layered, with each coat of color and design applied on top of the previous one. To keep each color pristine and vibrant, each layer must be completely dry before the next is added. This waiting process occasionally poses a challenge for Felix, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The condition makes him impatient and restless, with his mind constantly seeking new stimulation. He needs to work fast and furiously before his attention shifts. This drive to work quickly, fueled by both his ADHD and his quest for high output, affects not just his productivity but also his style. If a desired paint color isn’t immediately at hand, he won’t risk breaking his concentration to search for it, impulsively switching to a closer jar or tube.
Felix was born in Haiti and spent his formative childhood years in this "colorful country full of contradictions." At the age of twelve, he moved to New York with his family and "grew up American." In his twenties, he worked as a nightclub promoter but found the scene too vapid. Seeking something purer and more resonant, he "stumbled into art." In the basement of a Tribeca loft building, he met a mysterious artist who made the "craziest" art. "It was a magic moment,” says Felix. "Something clicked. His destiny was sealed." "When I first started painting, I didn’t go to school for it, so it was an ongoing process,” he explains. He began by working for a Russian realist figurative artist, where he "noticed she was very technical in prepping the painting." "That’s when I started learning the craft." Around the same time, he met Susanne Reichling, a German-born art historian who educated him on the diverse schools and styles of the art world. Felix’s first works were collages, but in 2005, he began painting on canvas. "Matisse,” he reflects, "I didn’t know about him until I had painted." Yet, despite this lack of early exposure to the Fauvist artist, Felix’s early paintings display Matisse-like swirls and unrestrained splashes of paint.
Over the past seven years, Felix’s paintings have become increasingly nuanced. His 2012 New York show featured works with large bulges of color adorned with graphic, Kandinsky-inspired bars. In contrast, his latest work exhibits minute details. While attention to detail is not typically associated with ADHD, perhaps the drive to keep moving and creating pushes Felix to paint increasingly intricate works. Untitled (Kaleidoscope) (2010), for example, resembles "a Hieronymus Bosch painting gone mad abstract." As a stream-of-consciousness painter, Felix allows spontaneity to shape his work. "I don’t sketch, draw, plan anything out. My basic start is to sketch it right on the canvas,” he explains. "I like to use the unexpected and just go full on with it. Through the painting, you’ll find areas that were unexpected, but I just let it be. I cannot put a tap on the energy that flows in the air. I leave it to simmer the thoughts. I try not to be too serious. My job is to make it pop. To make it rich. Polished. I like the idea of not knowing what I’m getting into. I’m too ADHD. It’s like the devil you know versus the devil you don’t know. I’d rather deal with the devil I don’t know. Progression without having to think.”
One day, while working in his 14-foot-ceilinged studio, magnificent beams of sunlight poured through the large windows, creating a "natural Mondrian" pattern on a freshly primed 6 x 4 foot canvas. Seizing this opportunity, Felix traced the lines of the shadows, resulting in his "masterpiece," Untitled (Mundus Subterranea) (2012). At first glance, the painting has the rawness of a Jean-Michel Basquiat, hurried and garish. Upon closer inspection, however, Piet Mondrian’s influence becomes evident in the subtle grid system underlying the composition. Lines and boxes contain a dizzying array of colors that seem to squirm in every direction, suggesting a push and pull between order and wildness, restraint and passion. Dr. Reichling explains, "He started with the intention to merge the opposite energies of Mark Rothko and Piet Mondrian in one painting. In the beginning stages, chance came to his help. The sun rays reflected a pattern on the canvas that he quickly drew. Those ‘sun-ray-lines’ became the Mondrian-esque ‘skeleton-grid’ over and within the fluid, almost Salvador Dali-like forms flow and find their space.”
Another painting, Untitled (U Push My Buttons, I Push Yours) (2010), incorporates text reminiscent of Paul Klee. The typeface is neither the cartoon lettering of pop art nor the advertisement style of conceptual art. Instead, the letters function as art elements, possessing the same fluid shapes as the other non-figurative imagery in Felix’s paintings. Layered over a multitude of background colors and shapes, the words appear to float within the painted border of the canvas. Other paintings demonstrate Felix’s fascination with shape, with stencils from his past now imprinted in his "muscle memory."
Perhaps the work that most strongly highlights Felix’s unique style is his 13 x 10 foot collaboration with fellow painter Rick Wray, Untitled (Inotropic) (2013). Wray, known for his bold black-and-white geometric abstraction, provides a stark contrast. The mathematical precision of Wray’s work emphasizes the multihued and sensual qualities of Felix’s style. Felix’s primary artistic interests lie in colors and shapes and the multifaceted ways of combining them on the blank canvas. In recent years, his forms have evolved into independent entities, becoming the "figures" of his abstract paintings. They flow together through the imaginary space of the canvas, transforming his compositions into mesmerizing kaleidoscopic abstractions.
In his quest to become "factory-like" in his immense output of creative work, Felix draws inspiration from a range of artists: Henri Matisse’s vibrant colors and plant-like forms, Arshile Gorky’s amoeba-like shapes, Andre Masson’s écriture automatique, Piet Mondrian’s grids, Sam Francis’ edges, Mark Rothko’s intensity, and Salvador Dali’s melting forms. Yet, he synthesizes these influences into his own distinct palette and compositional approach.
Felix founded his "one-man movement," New Abstraction News, to advance the concepts of non-figurative art, spontaneity, and impulse beyond the achievements of the Abstract Expressionists, or Action painters. While the finished paintings of these predecessors may appear spontaneous, even haphazard, Felix points out that many were, in fact, meticulously planned. Franz Kline, for example, created studies on telephone-book pages before transferring his ideas to canvas, and Willem de Kooning repeatedly reworked the figures in his Woman series. Taking spontaneity to "an entirely new plane," Felix does not plan his paintings in advance. His New Abstraction News movement is a call for art that is authentic, natural, and created "in the moment." His work possesses "an insurgent spirit that refuses to pander," and he beckons the viewer to "be fascinating like crazy.”
Lost in Translation by Lesny JN Felix
Down the Rabbit Hole: Welcome to Lesny JN Felix’s World of Surreal Abstraction By Stephanie Nikolopoulos
New Abstraction News: Instant Identification
©2005–2013 Lesny JN Felix Enterprise ~ Underground Art Mafia ~ The Gruppo ~ New Salon Art Exhibition Series ~ Open Studio Exhibition Series
Special Thanks: Proof7.com ~ Family ~ Laurance Chandler ~ Joshua Cooper ~ Brandon Coburn ~ John MacDonald ~ John Coleman ~ Dr. Susanne Reichling, Ph.D. ~ Art for the People Inc
