ZEBEDEE JONES
Agnew’s Gallery
12th October – 4th November, 2011
This October, to coincide with Frieze Art Fair, Agnew’s continues its contemporary programme with an exhibition of recent works by British artist Zebedee Jones. His boldest and brightest show to date, Jones’ abstract canvases will be on display from 12th October 2011.
Utterly abstract, devoid of any narrative or descriptive markers, including titles, Jones’ monochromatic paintings deny the viewers’ compulsion to map subject or meaning onto them. Each painting describes only its material existence – paint and surface. Yet, the palimpsest-like layers of paint and resultant built-up density give a sense of time - the timeliness of the process of painting. In this way his work can be placed within a traditional of Minimalist painting but also of process art, particularly as paintings which contain evidence of their own construction. The artist’s hand is so palpable that the voluminous texturing of the paint with brush and palette knife also evokes temporality. Rather than being illusory these paintings are suggestive of experience, firstly the experience of the painting, but by extension other experiences within our collective consciousness.
Most obviously Jones’ paintings are suggestive of sensory experiences, which in part may be attributed to the artist’s life long hearing impairment. As highly tactile surfaces, a predominant part of perceiving these paintings is the memory of touch they invite. Moreover, Jones’ vivid use of colour demands visual investigation, sometimes betraying the colours of successive overpainting. The sculptural quality of the paint casts shadows across the surface, whilst the deep supports further add to the three-dimensional quality of the works. Thus each painting is aesthetically in a state of flux, varying according to subtle alterations in light, setting, and indeed the position of the viewer.
Zebedee Jones
Born in 1970, Jones studied at Camberwell College of Art, London, Norwich School of Art and Chelsea School of Art and Design. His work was included in the Hayward Gallery’s exhibition Unbound: Possibilities in Painting, which explored the idea of painting as a means of experimentation and exploration beyond prescribed boundaries, and in Tate Liverpool’s At Sea exhibition. He has had solo exhibitions at Waddington Galleries, London (1998), Karsten Schubert, London (1995), Green on Red Gallery, Dublin (1998), Danese, New York (1999), Slewe Galerie, Amsterdam (2001) and Pippy Houldsworth, London (2002) amongst others.
Agnew’s Gallery
35 Albemarle Street
London W1S 4JD
Tel. +44 (0)20 7290 9250
Fax. +44 (0)20 7629 4359
www.agnewsgallery.co.uk
Nearest Tube: Green Park
Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 10am – 5.30pm / Saturday by appointment
