Rachel Jones: a shorn root
Rachel Jones: a shorn root
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Thaddeus Ropac Gallery commissioned Atelier Dyakova to design an ambitious, bilingual exhibition catalogue for the British artist Rachel Jones.
Rachel works primarily on unstretched canvases in her chosen oil stick and pastel mediums. She has gained an international reputation with her striking, kaleidoscopic worlds. The young female artist juxtaposes abstract motifs, colours and textures in a dynamic and confrontational manner. Presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Europe and the USA, Jones’s work is also celebrated in prominent institutional collections, such as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam; Baltimore Museum of Art, Maryland; MOCA, Los Angeles; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; and Tate, London.
Long Museum West Bund, Shanghai, created an exhibition of 20 new works in March 2023. Titled ‘a shorn root’, this major presentation of paintings on canvas and the artist’s signature stickers is Jones’s first solo exhibition in China. This new group of paintings marks a significant development in Jones’s ongoing interest in the mouth as a central motif in her work.
We sought to combine deeply coloured, rich, contrasting, and earthy materials in this publication. The change of surfaces from very rough to glossy to matt creates a dynamic landscape that takes the reader on a journey. Regarding typography, the team chose a typeface for the publication that projects vibrant energy, intensity and a certain light-heartedness.
The book includes a visual essay by curator and researcher Cynthia Igbokwe, whose work explores diverse cultural theory and technology themes alongside sonic and visual art.
Text by Sepake Angiama
Published by Long Museum West Bund
Portrait by Eva Herzog
2023
