J. Kent

Hearth Auction Artist:  J Kent The flowers of the field are free 2025, collage (drawing and screen-print on paper), 33 x 27”  Courtesy of the artist Estimated Value: $2,000 . . . J. Kent is a visual artist whose practice explores post-consumer desire through collection and arrangement. In an exploration of that which was buried, Kent’s floral scented work proposes bounty amidst a culture of professed scarcity. . . . Online bidding is open now! Link in Bio.

Recently I had the pleasure of creating some new prints with @stanshellabarger As an artist, one always hopes for co-working experiences such as these. An intrepid collaborator, Stan navigates into uncharted terrain with enthusiastic support while simultaneously managing technical practicalities. Experimentation is encouraged and every results (desired or not) is an opportunity to reimagine. We made a number of floral prints which were subsequently collaged and reconfigured into larger, unique compositions. A few of these pieces will be shown at my upcoming show at WIHSH Projects (3518 W Hirsch St) in West Humboldt Park. The opening is September 20th and the closing the 27th, both at 6pm—Very brief, like the life cycle of a flower. Visits by appointment during the week.

Happy pride, or like whatever. Once upon a time @katelinajones told me a story about a group of teens watching a child swimming alone at the public pool. Suitably impressed the kids commented: “I see you baby, swimming all by yourself in that pool” Years later, and a little drunk at a bar someone identified my outfit and complemented the look. It was understood that the clothing was just the shape of something larger, something we as strangers understood and shared. It was lovely, but a little drunk I remembered the old sadness and blurted out “Thank you—but also where were you before?!” In “The Last Unicorn” after years of waiting Molly Grue finally meets a real unicorn. “Where have you been, she cried. Damn you, where have you been?”…“She reach[s] up then to lay her hand on the unicorn's cheek; but both of them flinched a little, and the touch came to rest on on the swift, shivering place under the jaw…“I am here now” she said at last----------I see you baby. Happy pride 💜 PURPLE 1) Christian Dior suit jacket, Halston hat from Bergdorf Goodman, allium from the garden, 2) Chenille top from Neiman Marcus, vintage hat, cat eye sunglasses from @winning.and.losing 3) Jill Sander plasticized shirt, bra found on the street, rutabaga and eggplant from Hyde Park produce.

Happy pride, or like whatever. And not to brag but I was voted the football MVP of my conversion therapy camp. Which is a truth that is also a joke that I never grow tired of telling. I think it just meant I could run fast. And if you find yourself at a conversion therapy camp you are likely good at running away from things, but also not good enough at running away from things if you still find yourself at a conversion therapy camp. I remember a man left a bag of pastel Easter Peanut M&M’s on my pillow. It was August. Which is a truth that is also a joke that I never grow tired of telling. Blue 1) Pierre Cardin blouse, vintage hat 2) Kenzo tank top over Marithé François Girbaud zodiac print shirt, Dries Van Noten bucket hat 3) 2003 Issey Miyake convertible wrap dress

Happy pride, or like whatever #Protectthedolls(wigs). I love a gay antique dealer. I love an effeminate hoarder. I remember seeing John Waters on the Simpsons as the owner of Cockamamie's Collectibles Shop. It was an entry level literacy course on the aesthetic categories of kitsch and camp. Back in the underage days, Boystown meant vintage shops carrying sweaty polyester shirts and rusty lunchboxes. I have always resonated with the queer spirt of renaming and reclaiming, spinning trash into gold, seeing value in what others have overlooked. The salvaged costumes of the Cockettes. Allee Willis and Paul Reubens cannibalizing the atomic age into a New Wave B-52’s dance party that everyone was invited to attend. Howard Ashman writing "Part of Your World" for a trans-coded mermaid girlie obsessed with collecting gadgets, gizmos, whosits, and thingamabobs. Green 1) Christian Lacroix F/W 1996 faux fur coat, vintage shirt by Hawaiian Togs, human hair doll wig 2) Valentino fabric yardage, beaded 1920’s dress, silk hair bow made by someones mother, human hair doll wig 3) Chanel bra found in a ditch, vintage I. Magnin mohair cardigan, and another human hair doll wig

Ring Ring—Happy pride, or like whatever. In middle school I found a pair of 1970’s Yves Saint Laurent corduroy pants at a thrift store. They were wide whale in an unsettling yellow, a strange almost scatalogical hue—très jolie laide. They were totally out of step with current fashion and I totally adored them. I didn’t fully understand the object and had absolutely no comprehension of French pronunciation (I’d namecheck them and hit that silent “T” real hard). Regardless, the pants were a shibboleth, asserting not only the possibility of another world but its actual material existence. Although inaccessible at the time the pants oriented me towards a gay emerald city inhabited by people with the fortitude and imagination to leave their places of origin. A world glimpsed via magazines procured at the public library—magazines whose pages would occasionally go missing after I read them. Fashion suggested a previously unheralded self determinacy, a world of aspiration realized. Years later I would see Paris is Burning, with Octavia Saint Laurent, whose lacquered nails trace her collection of magazine clippings pinned to her bedroom walls: “This is not a game for me, this is something I want to live.” Yellow 1) Vintage Yves Saint Laurent blouse, dress by Christian Dior New York for Stuarts in Boston, Platex gloves, vintage hat, Joseph Magnin dyed fur collar, purse by Lucille de Paris, and banana by Chiquita 2) Antique silk parasol, embroidered piano shawl, fake Louis Vuitton scarf worn as a halter top, sunglasses by Alexander Wang X Linda Rodin, and vintage scarf by Echo 3) Vintage earrings bought in Berlin, shirts by Kenzo and Tropicana, jacket by Max Mara, bakelite bangles, and books

Happy pride, or like whatever. A rose by any other name could just be an orange, also I don’t think I met another queer person until I was an adult. To be fair there was a girl named Ashely who transferred to our middle school and was rumored to have gay dads, but she called me a f@g so her credentials are a bit dubious. Also there was a guy who worked at the Cinnabon in the mall. He had blue hair and wore a bracelet with rainbow beads. Ravenous for connection I wrote a note with my phone number and “I like your bracelet.” I think he was just into rave culture. And now there is a particular whiplash to be celebrating “how far we’ve come” alongside the Keebler Elves and Bank of America. I still can’t c*m without guilt, but at least I can buy an Adult Rainbow Friendship Bracelet at Target — take that Mister Cinnabon! Orange 1.) Vintage Thierry Mugler dress with asymmetrical collar, Iradj Moini earring, sheath dress by Maria Cornejo, and oranges by Sunkist 2.) 1980’s Gianni Versace jacket from Ultimo, Christian Dior brooch by Robert Goossens, beaded lariat necklace, Hawaiian style shirt by Jantzen, polyester blouse tied over the head à la Little Edie from Grey Gardens 3.) Scarves, sweater, and box by Hermes with vintage hat and leather gloves

Happy pride, or like whatever. Recently there was a monochromatic pride fashion show that I had to miss because of work (which btw is the legal definition of homophobia). I’ve been collecting vintage since middle school and this seemed like a good opportunity to delve into the archives and style a photo series evoking the colors of the OG flag. Thus, in the contemporary spirt of pride, here’s a personal agenda shoe-horned into the context of visibility with a healthy dose of consumption. RED 1) Vintage Debutogs coat, 1950’s hat, Kate Moss Rimmel London lipstick 2) Koos Van Den Akker cut out top, Yves Saint Laurent hat, vintage gloves, and American Spirits (black), 3) Yves Saint Laurent silk blouse, vintage necklace, scotch tape by 3M, cherries by Trade Joe’s.

I have a new sculpture in Maisons Fragiles, @ruschwoman Gallery. Excited to showcase a display of extravagant, decadent, mortality. The opening reception is this Sunday, September 29th, from 3-6PM. And the show runs September 29 - November 17, 2024 RUSCHWOMAN, 2100 S. Marshall Blvd., Suite 105 Chicago, IL 60623

Yup. That pretty much sums it up.