Gagosian to present an exhibition of new paintings by Jonas Wood at Grosvenor Hill Gallery.
Gagosian is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Jonas Wood, opening at the Grosvenor Hill gallery in London on October 7, 2024. These works see Wood extend the unmistakable visual language that he has developed over two decades, exploring the dynamics of colour, pattern, and space through the treatment of recurring subjects, including plants, family, and interiors. At once exuberant and obsessive, intimate and imaginative, the paintings on view—like much of Wood’s work—are marked by the interplay of apparent opposites.
Wood’s compositions are characterized by sudden disjuncture's, the collision of contrasting graphic passages, and sly shifts of scale and perspective, all within a compressed picture plane. These qualities grow out of his elaborate studio process: the artist works from photographs that he frequently alters and collages by hand, which, in turn, form the basis for preparatory drawings from which the paintings derive. Through these stages, he transforms volumes, surfaces, and textures into dense blocks of pattern and vibrant colour.
The works emphasize their own composite nature and pictorial plasticity, with sometimes-destabilizing effects from clashing compositional elements. In Self-Portrait with Home Depot Cart, Joint, and Phone, which draws on several photographic sources, the figure of the artist—rendered at miniature scale—practically disappears amid the brickwork and camouflage mural on the building behind him and the cluster of houseplants in front, yet he remains the thematic and compositional heart of the painting. As is often true in Wood’s work, the imagery in the exhibition is encoded with personal significance, each painting corresponding to a key element or moment from the artist’s life. While these meanings are not necessarily available to the viewer, a distinctive sense of intimacy pervades much of this body of work.
Concurrent with the exhibition, Wood is taking over Gagosian Burlington Arcade from October 7 to November 23, 2024. Wallpaper and prints by the artist are on view in the gallery, while posters, artist-designed hats, and books, including a new catalogue that accompanies Wood’s exhibition at Grosvenor Hill, are available in the Gagosian Shop.
Jonas Wood: October 7–November 23, 2024
Grosvenor Hill, London 20 Grosvenor Hill London W1K 3QD
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday 10–6
Further Information: Jonas Wood | Gagosian