This Thursday, October 9, Erik Jones (HF Vol. 27 cover artist) will unveil a new series of work at Joseph Gross Gallery in NYC. The exhibition, titled “So Far So Good”, is a three-person show, which also features the art of Hueman and Alex Yanes. Hi-Fructose caught up with Jones at his Brooklyn studio as he put the finishing touches on his new paintings.
Through a mixed media approach, using colored pencils, pastels and paint, Jones creates artwork that combines realism with abstract expressionism. Often using the female nude as a backdrop on which he creates an overlay of shapes and colors, the neutral palette and soft form of flesh is juxtaposed against bright, graphic designs. Both masking and revealing the representational imagery beneath it, strategically placed cutouts of harsh lines, geometric shapes and gestural brushstrokes direct the viewer’s eye through the composition.
The artist forges these final layers in an intuitive manner, without having the completed product planned in advance, and each image is actually several paintings on top of each other with remnants of previous stages still visible through texture. The show will also feature several new works devoid of figurative elements. The series is unified by reoccurring abstract objects that dance throughout each painting, lending a familiarity to these otherwise abstruse forms.