New Paintings and Works on Paper
A very much anticipated show at Gagosian, Jonas Wood presents works with his classic texturized, natural interiors as well as a series of vases. This show comes closely after his “first solo museum exhibition in the United States in almost a decade opened on March at the Dallas Museum of Art (Gagosian)”
Interiors & Exteriors
“One room of this exhibition is dedicated to a series of new paintings of architectural interiors and exteriors. Wood composes these through a process of layering and collaging, using photography, projection, drawing, and then painting.” - Gagosian Press Release
It’s ironic calling these paintings ‘interiors’ because a Jonas Wood interior is often so plant filled that it resembles an exterior garden.
Vessels
“Several of the depicted vessels draw from the work of Henri Matisse” - Gagosian Press Release
Literally. Henri Matisse’s name is written directly on multiple vase paintings, in case anyone had a question about who he was referencing.
The subject matter doesn't stop with art history throw-backs. He also incorporates pop culture elements such as Minnie and Mickey Mouse, The Peanuts and X-Men Comic Characters into his works.
This kind of in-your-face realism reflects Jonas Wood as a person (or what I can gather at least from interviews).
In general, Jonas Wood is a king when it comes to iconography, whether it’s a palm leaf of a basketball he takes everyday images and reimagines them in his own, stylized way. He doesn’t shy away from typical taboo art subjects such as sports to reality television, and instead draws inspiration from the sources (or at least from sports) unabashedly.
He’s also an avid art collector and has stated to own works by Calvin Marcus and Christina Forrer (I always find it fascinating to hear what other artists, artists collect).
He’s also close with fellow artist Mark Grotjhan who was one of the first to purchase his works, and the two to this day are represented by all of the same galleries except for David Kordansky.
Some of my favorite interviews with him can be found below, and I think Interview Magazine wins the prize for most ridiculous (and amazing) article title:
Beer With A Painter - Hyperallergic
Artist Jonas Wood has Broad Appeal - Cultured
Jonas Wood Facetimed us to Talk Exotic Coffins and The Time He Ended Up on Lebron James’s Instagram - Interview
Jonas Wood is an LA based (if you couldn't tell already) artist that’s represented by one of the most impressive lists of gallery’s I’ve ever seen.
Shane Campbell Gallery - Chicago
Anton Kern Gallery - New York
David Kordansky - Los Angeles
Gagosian Gallery - Global
The show is on view until July 19th! So if you're in New York, I recommend you check it out.
