Katherine Jones RA – BRIGHT NEW

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Image: Katherine Jones RA, Bright New 2024, oil and acrylic on two wood panels, 58 .5 x 83cm

 

“Words, English words, are full of echoes, of memories, of associations—naturally. They have been out and about, on people’s lips, in their houses, in the streets, in the fields, for so many centuries. And that is one of the chief difficulties in writing them today – that they are stored with other meanings, with other memories, and they have contracted so many famous marriages in the past”V Woolf essays

‘Bright New’ is a collection of small paintings and prints expanding on a few repeated motifs, sometimes within the same image. These include familiar objects, mainly flowers, and use a loose set of self-imposed abstract rules in the process of their composition. Each object depicted is allowed to change and does not have to belong to a set of historical interpretations but can exist as a part of the structure of the painting. 

The process begins with a confusion of ideas and found and imagined images then is then edited, things are moved around, reworked and reinvented. Some of these pieces are quite straightforward and are partially painted from life, but it’s been important to keep the way open for things to go off-piste. For example a flower can be a flower or it can change or morph into other imaginary colours, shapes or things. 

 

Image: Katherine Jones RA, A Trap Crop, Oil and acrylic on wood panel, 41.5 x 58.7cm

“The process of painting using oils, is not such familiar territory. Until now paintings have acted as sketches in the studio or conduits for making prints and have not been intended to be finished objects. Any change in media or direction involves a necessary phase, its been a contradictory mixture of things not working, of being surprised, not comfortable and enthused. Like any exercise or learning a new thing it wakes you up and gives perspective on other things it also reminds you how unstable the ground is. Working between painting and printmaking does this to a certain extent as well, looking at a piece from another perspective can bring a bit of clarity about where to take it.” Katherine Jones

This show marks a stage in an ongoing process while some things might be concluded for the exhibition some of the images will form the beginning of future work or be developed in other media. 

Repeats:
Repeats in the work and repeated images relate to the processes used in the studio but also the repeats in nature. In the studio the changing repeat of a hand printed image, or reworking a painting, from a sketch to a more concluded thing. The processes are not linear though. Often after finding the beginning of a painting, it jumps too far forward and you need to work backwards to a find a conclusion. 

In nature the changing light of the day, the seasons, both unique and predictable every year, cycles of forgetting and remembering, being surprised by the bright new lush green in may/june. The same bud forming, the same flower flowering, new again. Things continue to be new and familiar at once.

CATALOGUE
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