JUSTIN YOON

Lunch at Sunset consists of six paintings made by Yoon during the first half of this year, following his debut with the gallery last summer in the group show It’s Much Louder Than Before, which explored various communities and aesthetics of queer nightlife.

Through ongoing episodic depictions of three queer, Asian heroes—‘Marge the Space Queen,’ ‘Blue Dream,’ and’ Fivepound’z,’ the Shih Tzu, Yoon’s neon idols satirise and invert staged depictions of heteronormativity in popular media. He is interested in exploring a queerness not tied to sex, rather the trio shares a platonic intimacy through his high camp capture of scenes from ordinary life. Whether they are viewing television, going out to dinner, or taking in the sunset, each painting suggests a cohesive, but never-ending narrative like a tv sitcom. There is a tongue-in-cheek irony to these characters and their ‘costuming,’ Blue Dream always appears oiled up in tiny briefs like a go-go dancer and Marge wears a gown regardless of the occasion.

Reappropriating 1950/70s Hollywood tropes from fashion to interiors, Yoon blends them with his own early childhood memories of American junk food, late-night movies on TV, and listening to jazz during long family drives. He transforms these memories into a world of nostalgia and over-the-top plastic glamor. Unified by their playful vaporwave palette, washes of pink and blue acrylic, gouaches, and glitter seduce us into Yoon’s world of solidarity and friendship.

Justin Yoon (b. 1991, Los Angeles, CA) received his BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York, NY. His work has been exhibited at Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA; Shelter Gallery, New York, NY; Hannah Traore Gallery, New York, NY; and Taymour Grahne Projects, London, UK. Upcoming shows include a group show with Museum of Sex, New York, NY; and a solo exhibition with Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL. His work has been featured in publications including Math Magazine, Less Magazine, and Artsy. Yoon lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.