Rachel Jones

‘My lived experience is a foundation for how colour can express different emotional states or convey the concept of an interior landscape,’ says Rachel Jones (b. 1991). This summer, she presents new works in Gated Canyons – an exhibition whose title evokes spaces that are both closed and vast, excluding yet liberating. Through vibrant layers of oil stick and pastel, Jones explores these tensions in bold, emotive colour.

The initial trio of canvases, each an impressive 3.6 meters, dominate the space as you enter, giving the sensation of being engulfed and released by the art itself. Gated Canyons introduces a new collection featuring eight large-scale pieces alongside six smaller ones, encouraging visitors to delve into how color, shape, and form engage the senses and provoke instinctive reactions. By drawing inspiration from the exaggerated expressions and architecture seen in cartoons like Looney Tunes, Jones crafts paintings that whimsically investigate the connection between our emotions and their reflection through our real-world experiences and surroundings.