Gated Canyons, an exhibition by contemporary artist Rachel Jones, opens on 10 June in Dulwich Picture Gallery. It includes newly commissioned work, comprising eight large-scale and six smaller works, in addition to selected paintings created during the last seven years.
Spanning four rooms, the exhibition highlights different facets of Jones’ distinct visual language. Its title, Gated Canyons – which is also that of each of the new works – evokes ideas of spaces that are simultaneously open and expansive, but closed and exclusive.
Jones is renowned for her use of both abstract and figurative motifs and colour to create emotional intensity. In particular her fixation with the mouth is a way of articulating and exploring the relationship between ourselves and our environment. She has also drawn on references from cartoons such as Looney Tunes to consider how landscapes and colours morph and collapse in response to the way characters feel and behave.
Working in layers of oil stick and oil pastel, materials which lend themselves to her instinctive, intuitive mark-making, Jones blends colour in surprising and sometimes unsettling ways. The exhibition continues the practice leaving parts of linen canvas exposed. This ‘breathing space’ adds a new sense of vulnerability to the paintings, while Jones’ palette has also expanded to become increasingly tender, including candied and pastel tones of pinks and purples.
Rachel Jones said: “The repetition of a mouth filled with teeth is how I play with, subdue, elevate or put meaning and content into ideas around representations of self and Blackness.
Jane Findlay, Curator of the exhibition, said: “Rachel Jones’ work is constantly evolving, as she explores how we shift between ourselves and the world. In this new body of work she challenges the boundaries of her creative voice, finding new layers of vulnerability and dimensions of space. I’m excited for people to encounter these all-encompassing charged works and respond to them in the Gallery.”
Gated Canyons runs until 19 October in Dulwich Picture Gallery, College Road, SE21 7AD
The Gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10am – 5pm
For further information including the range of ticket prices visit www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk
