People often say that you can’t catch lightning in a bottle, because of the statistically impossible odds to orchestrate such a moment, meaning exogenous variables and conditions have to be right for this rare feat to occur. For Sean Go, he is the lightning, and he strikes visual electricity into his art.
Inspired by street artists during his time at the Fashion Institute of Technology where he graduated with a Master of Arts, there’s a vivacity in his work that reminds one of Futura, Basquiat, and Banksy. His works often feature a casual smokiness through spray paint combined with bright colors that time capsule you into your childhood. His visual vocabulary, much like Jeff Koons instills a child-like openness, and some of his figures have cult-like energy when viewed up close. His angels appear to be floating, his dragons and monsters consumed with primal anger, and his Little Tikes figurines pristine with innocence. In his world of mythological madness, artist Sean Go investigates the theme of limitless possibility. For him, art is a way to subconsciously communicate to viewers the importance of being your “Ready Player One.” You can control your destiny, even if the road may be battered by lightning, earthquakes, and sea-splitting events, much like the characters in his art can. If Piglet the Courageous Daredevil and Humpty Dumpty the Iron Egg can alter their path, then we all can.
In Asia, where technical mastery is often prized, Go is burning his own path through his Picasso-esque rebellion of changing acceptable beauty standards by creating “imperfect works.” The “Iphonization” of everything, which often includes designing sleek curves, smooth systems, and clean lines is the antithesis of his work. When everything is about perfection, Go hopes to find beauty in the Chaos, as Dolores might say in Westworld.
One might even say that Go’s resume is a bit “chaotic.” With 3 undergraduate degrees from UC Berkeley, a Master of Science from Columbia, and an MBA and Master in Law from Emory prior to his art world entrance, it’s rare to come across an individual with a tenacity for learning vastly different subjects. For the cultured eye, chaos may be genius in disguise. Leonardo Da Vinci, Botticelli, and their Renaissance cohort often were architects, designers, biologists, engineers, and musicians in addition to being artists. Perhaps it’s the free flow of ideas that enables Go to strike lightning whatever he does. Only the future will tell, but in the meantime let his works dazzle you with their playful spirits.
Written in partnership with Jordan Finkle
