Exploring the Mysteries Within Rachel Jones' Art Works
Published August 30, 2024 09:55 PM
Kang In sig
Rachel Jones. SMIIIILLLLEEEE. 2021. Courtesy of Eva Herzog
Rachel Jones, speaking from her London studio, reflected on the human desire for resolution and understanding. “We often seek resolution to comprehend things,” she said, “but sometimes understanding comes through complexity.” Jones’s art has always explored the in-between spaces: painting and drawing, abstraction and figuration, past and present. With over a decade of experience, including studies at the Glasgow School of Art and a master’s from the Royal Academy Schools in London (2019), she now embraces working in unresolved ways.
Last fall, Jones ventured into new territory by co-writing and producing the opera Hey, Maudie, performed at St James’s Piccadilly in London. She likened the experience to “leaping off a cliff.” Returning to painting, she found a newfound freedom and openness. “That boldness stems from creating the opera—taking steps into the unknown and trusting my desire to express myself in various ways,” she explained.
Her latest work showcasing in “!!!,” her first solo exhibition in the U.S. at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco (through September 1) features paintings on linen for the first time. These pieces retain her vibrant color fields and textured oil pastel strokes but also incorporate significant areas of untouched linen, adding a new dimension. “The linen’s weave and natural dye already contribute a lot,” Jones noted, making it a color field in itself.
View of the exhibition. !!!!!. 2024. Courtesy of MoAD
Jones has long been intrigued by mouths and teeth, using them as central motifs in her work from the 2010s to the present. Titles like "Lick Your Teeth", "They so clutch" and "SMIIILLLLEEEE" (both 2021), and the 2020 diptych A Sliced Tooth, reflect this fascination. Her mouth does not smile; they address the complex history of Black representation in art and the expressive power of our mouths.
Language plays a crucial role in Jones’s creative process. Despite the non-narrative nature of her paintings, she draws most of her inspiration from reading and hopes to explore her writing practice further. Jones’s deep sense of purpose is evident in her work, as she navigates the challenge of conveying multiple truths and balancing the real with the imagined.
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Rachel Jones. SMIIIILLLLEEEE. 2021. Courtesy of Eva Herzog
Rachel Jones, speaking from her London studio, reflected on the human desire for resolution and understanding. “We often seek resolution to comprehend things,” she said, “but sometimes understanding comes through complexity.” Jones’s art has always explored the in-between spaces: painting and drawing, abstraction and figuration, past and present. With over a decade of experience, including studies at the Glasgow School of Art and a master’s from the Royal Academy Schools in London (2019), she now embraces working in unresolved ways.
Last fall, Jones ventured into new territory by co-writing and producing the opera Hey, Maudie, performed at St James’s Piccadilly in London. She likened the experience to “leaping off a cliff.” Returning to painting, she found a newfound freedom and openness. “That boldness stems from creating the opera—taking steps into the unknown and trusting my desire to express myself in various ways,” she explained.
Her latest work showcasing in “!!!,” her first solo exhibition in the U.S. at the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco (through September 1) features paintings on linen for the first time. These pieces retain her vibrant color fields and textured oil pastel strokes but also incorporate significant areas of untouched linen, adding a new dimension. “The linen’s weave and natural dye already contribute a lot,” Jones noted, making it a color field in itself.
View of the exhibition. !!!!!. 2024. Courtesy of MoAD
Jones has long been intrigued by mouths and teeth, using them as central motifs in her work from the 2010s to the present. Titles like "Lick Your Teeth", "They so clutch" and "SMIIILLLLEEEE" (both 2021), and the 2020 diptych A Sliced Tooth, reflect this fascination. Her mouth does not smile; they address the complex history of Black representation in art and the expressive power of our mouths.
Language plays a crucial role in Jones’s creative process. Despite the non-narrative nature of her paintings, she draws most of her inspiration from reading and hopes to explore her writing practice further. Jones’s deep sense of purpose is evident in her work, as she navigates the challenge of conveying multiple truths and balancing the real with the imagined.
