Gabrielle Jones
August 12, 2019
Australian abstract artist Gabrielle Jones makes paintings that appear like wild bouquets of brushstrokes— energy coalescing into amorphous fleshy forms. They are seemingly sentient heaps of color about "the performative act of painting, capturing the rhythm of movement." Jones works both with acrylic and oil, but says she "loves the slipperiness and wetness of oil— it's alternately tactile, sexy, and annoyingly dirty." (Creativpaper vol 002 Issue 009)
You You You You You You You, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Wings of Desire (Poetry and Music), Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
You You You You You You You (2019) looks like a nocturne in which paint has been caught coming to life after-hours in the studio. The title echoes Fiona Apple's powerful refrain in 'Valentine,' a moving song of unrequited love. In it, Apple sings, "I watched you live to have my fun / I root for you, I love you / You, you, you," which may as well be about a painter's love for painting.
Inner Voice (Mother Love), Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Seduction, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Seduction (2019) is a juicy, swirling affair of soft pinks, creamy browns, and glowing ochres. Seduction, I imagine, is what a painting would look like peacocking, which leads us directly to the relation of desire, lust, and seduction to art. Can a painting be described in the same terms as great sex, or does it require a different vernacular?
Two Become One, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Atonement, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Atonement (2019) is a joyous jumble of greens, teals, pinks, and reds. In a literal sense, atonement is to fix, make right, or reassemble something broken. To atone a painting would be fixing or reworking a bad or neglected painting. This act of atonement would surely please the painting gods, who are, after all, no gods at all, but simply all the personal convictions and compulsions each painter has toward painting. No Gods. No Masters. Only Painting.
Spirit, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
Gabrielle will be showing work at the 96th Annual Australian Watercolour Institute Exhibition, the Affordable Art Fair Melbourne, and she has a solo show titled Hymns to a Passion opening later this month at Muswellbrook Regional Art Centre. She will also be leading four art retreat tours in 2020 with Art Retreats International. Follow along on Instagram to see what's next! @artistgabriellejones
Surayu, Oil and Acrylic on Canvas, 2019
