Towards the end of last month, the Dorothy Circus Gallery in Rome hosted the opening for the first European solo show by Erik Jones. Entitled In Colour, the vibrant new mixed media paintings feature his formula of female subjects set against abstract forms and geometric shapes that at times seem to reference high-end fashion.
The American artist further states – “The narrative behind the work is more about challenging the viewer to see beauty in chaos. The figures are used as an aesthetic anchor, holding the viewer’s attention to a recognizable form, while exploring colorful, nonrepresentational abstractions. In a way, the figures make the chaos palette-able. Many of the graphic elements in this current body of work are a slight departure from some of the older work. I wanted the graphic aesthetic to take on digital qualities and appear to be more naive and childlike in the approach. As if an inexperienced, non-artistic person were exploring a digital drawing program for the first time. The intention is to present ability and craft juxtaposed with chaos and disorder.”
Photo credit: Chiara Kurtovic.
Discuss Erik Jones here.
