Artist Profile: Justin Aerni

I have known Justin Aerni since high school.  I met him through my brother in our junior year and hit it off right away due to our mutual hate for everyone.  The first time I met him I invited him into the hot tub and tried to convince him I was gay.  I am pretty sure we both thought we would be dead by now, but as that naughty lil' Mother Gaia would have it, we are not.  And he is doing something productive with his life and creating a lot of art.

He was making art back then but not at the apocalypse-is-coming pace that he does now.  Just because he produces Andy-Warhol-style-quick doesn't mean that there is not an audience.  Last time I spoke with him he mentioned that he has collectors from as far away as Israel to as close as here in the US of A.  Not really sure where the hell Israel is, but I think Texas is still part of the US so I know some of my fellow countrymen are helping Justin's cause.    

Regarding his art, Justin doesn't really shy away from any medium nor does he deny any objects their right to be painted upon.  Going through his body of work, we will notice that he has painted on toy dolls, lunchboxes, pages of books, envelopes, dollar bills (which I think is illegal), really pretty much anything.  I recently got a letter/painting from him with some amazing colors painted on it.  Only when I took a closer look did I realize that he had created this beauty over a Portland bus map.  And that it was a giant penis.

And speaking of giant colored penises, that would be one thing that shows up in most of his catalog.  Well no, not really.  Not the penises but the vivid hues.  He's got some really impressive watercolors where the color almost evokes a memory.  This dude is planting memories in all of our heads!  But who cares because a lot of them are gorgeous and many of them include robots.

He had a robot period probably back in 06.  He definitely has periods.  Not like a woman but like a true artist.  If we look at Justin's work chronologically, we can definitely identify certain themes, ideas, concepts, colors, preoccupations, whatever.  And this work is not limited to paintings.  I only featured his paintings/mixed media work here, but Justin also makes sculptures, drawings, books, and a wide variety of other things that are hard to even imagine.

His work can be found all over the web, but here are a few links to make it that much easier.  Check it out and support the cause!  He is also listed in the goddamned new-age blue pages that Mark "Screw Luke 12:7! I'm God and know how many hairs you and your friends have on their heads" Fuckerberg conveniently used to replace the old-school yellow pages which Justin now uses as canvasses (below).  Add him as a friend on there to check out new works.

Justin Aerni.com
Justin Aerni Ebay