John Andrew Perello, known as JonOne, grew up in Harlem and started writing graffiti at the age of seventeen before founding the 156 All Starz crew in 1984.

Based in Paris since 1987, he gradually moved from trains to canvas and developed an abstract, gestural style rooted in graffiti. In 2007, his canvas Match Point sold for 24,800 euros at Artcurial, a record at the time for a graffiti artwork in France.