Past Events
JOANNA JONES
New
Paintings and Book Launch
30 November 2005 – 5 January 2006
Images
Biography
The Pharos Trust
first organized an exhibition of Joanna Jones’ paintings at
Melina Mercouri Hall, Nicosia in 2003. We were so impressed by
the power and energy of the works that we decided to prepare a
major publication, a retrospective of her work over the past
twenty years. The book, Joanna Jones, was launched on 30
November 2005 accompanied by an exhibition of the artist’s
recent work.
Joanna Jones’
paintings unravel her being. Like the unfurling of a draper’s
tight roll of cloth, they reveal her consciousness as her body
presses paint into waves of light and form. Her work has evolved
over several decades as part of an intense emotional and
intellectual process of self discovery and unveiling. The artist
states that, ‘‘the work aspires to universality in its
expression of being and presence. What prompted me the first
time to this act was an overwhelming wish to enter my painting
and do away with any separation between my work and myself’’.
The body itself becomes the brush, not as a gimmick to attract
attention but as a genuine effort to open an inner core and to
transfer primal energy from the self onto the canvas with an
almost matriarchal commitment to bring forth that which is whole
and essential. As Guy Brett’s valuable conversation with the
artist recorded in the book Joanna Jones reveals, there
is a primordial urge to make use of the body as a vehicle for
the transference of subtle impulses and a desire to share gained
experience.
In 2001, Joanna
Jones had one of her works projected onto the cliffs of Dover
from dusk to dawn – an event that attracted thousands of
viewers. As the sky darkened the work came into view and as day
emerged the vast image on the cliff surface disappeared. In the
same year she was given the Artist of the Year award by the UK
Arts Council. Joanna Jones has lived in Germany for twenty years
and her work has been shown in museums and art galleries
throughout Germany and Europe. She has an extensive
bibliography.
Links:
The artists’ website
Joanna Jones (Pharos Publications)
