NICHOLAS JONES
Front Cover: A World of Water and Light, 2013 Oil on canvas 54¼ x 66⅛ inches / 137.7 x 168 cm
NICHOLAS JONES ‘LIGHT’
1st May – 31st May, 2014
CRANE KALMAN GALLERY LTD 178 Brompton Road, London SW3 1HQ Tel: 020 7584 7566 Fax: 020 7584 3843 www.cranekalman.com /ckg.ltd@virgin.net
THE SEEN AND THE UNSEEN by Nicholas Jones (The painter) must be endowed with both imagination and skill in the hand, to discover unseen things beneath the obscurity of natural objects, and to arrest them with the hand, presenting to the sight that which did not before appear to exist.’ Cennino Cennini (c. 1370 - c. 1440) ‘Our perennial spiritual and psychological task is to look at things familiar until they become unfamiliar again.’ G. K. Chesterton One of the great pleasures of my life is the daily short, slow walks I take down the lanes and through the fields and woods that surround our Somerset home. It is astonishing what wonders can be seen if one takes the time to look. I try to keep my eyes open to the gifts waiting to be received: reflections in the pond in the old orchard, birds flitting down the hedgerows, the first star appearing above the hill, the cycle of the seasons and the ever changing light.What I do in the studio is a response to what I have seen on these walks, although it is supplemented by memories of journeys further afield, and dreams of places of which I have only read, or seen in photographs or film. My desire as an artist is simply to celebrate this endless beauty through the creation of paintings that are, in some small way, beautiful in themselves. I work on a large number of paintings concurrently, starting new canvases on consecutive studio days until between 10 and 30 are under way. I then return to the first canvas and work my way through them all again in turn. This process continues over a period of months, or even a year. I find this enables me to work with increased courage, momentum and efficiency.The images evolve through a process of exploration, elimination and refinement. When I begin a canvas I generally have little idea what the final picture will look like. I would hope that each canvas might progress from something hazy and indistinct towards something that is crisp, graceful and seemingly effortless. So beginning with areas of painted sky and washes of colour I set off with not much of a plan other than to be open and experimental.
I routinely use a whole range of unconventional tools in an attempt to create fresh marks and textures that leave little evidence of brush-work or my own hand: plastic sheeting, newspaper, stenciling, syringes, draught excluders, carpet and kitchen brooms. I do numerous practice runs on small squares of canvas in order to maximize the chances of achieving the desired effect. I then select and work round the parts that seem to be most evocative in order to draw them out, open up space, and create a balanced and coherent whole. Sometimes ‘controlled accidents’ or more drastic measures are needed as a catalyst for forcing an uncooperative painting to take a new turn.The majority of paintings I begin never work out. It can be frustrating, but I am amply rewarded by that exhilarating moment when something unexpected happens and a painting suddenly springs to life. For me painting is a strange dance between, on the one hand, being in control and making the decisions, and on the other, simply being responsive to the paint and tuning into the painting itself (which sometimes seems to choose its own course). I would hope that my presence and hand are hardly felt by the viewer, if at all. A selection of test-runs
There is an obvious difference between a painting that is still in progress and one that is finished.The completed work has a far greater intensity, simplicity and presence. It will successfully evoke for me a specific landscape-emotion or experience; these feelings usually fall somewhere between awe and tenderness. Such a painting will somehow succeed in distilling something of the transient beauty of the natural world just as a well-constructed haiku evokes a whole visual or emotional experience. Paul Klee wrote, that ‘Art does not reproduce the visible; it makes visible.’ It is my hope that these paintings will not only be satisfying to look at and rewarding to live with, but may perhaps even enable people to see the beauty in the world around them with fresh eyes.
Colour chart in which every tube of paint is mixed with every other.
From Time to Time, 2011-13 Oil on canvas 72Âź x 60 inches / 183.5 x 152.8 cm
Seasons of Light Winter, 2011-12 Oil on canvas 54¼ x 66⅛ inches / 137.7 x 168 cm
Out of Brightness, 2013 Oil on canvas 54¼ x 54¼ inches / 137.7 x 137.7 cm
Light and Landscape: Sunrise, 2013
Light and Landscape: Sunset, 2013
Oil on canvas 66⅛ x 54⅜ inches / 168 x 138 cm
Oil on canvas 66⅛ x 54⅜ inches / 168 x 138 cm
The Seen and the Unseen, 2013 Oil on canvas 52 x 42 inches / 132 x 106.7 cm
The All-Suffusing Light, 2011-13 Oil on canvas 42â…› x 52 inches / 107 x 132 cm
The Thickening Air, 2013 Oil on canvas 48 inches / 122 cm diameter
As the Seasons Change, 2013 Oil on canvas 40â…› inches / 102 cm diameter
Veils of Light, 2013 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches / 91.7 x 91.7 cm
Beyond the Wood, 2011-12 Oil on canvas 36 x 36 inches / 91.7 x 91.7 cm
A Deeper Seclusion, 2013 Oil on canvas 30â…› x 36 inches / 76.5 x 91.5 cm
Under Frozen Skies, 2011-12 Oil on canvas 30⅛ x 36¼ inches / 76.5 x 91.8 cm
In the Crystalline Air, 2013 Oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches / 61.2 x 76.2 cm
Until it Goes Again, 2013 Oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches / 61.2 x 76.2 cm
In Soft Stillness, 2013 Oil on canvas 24 x 30 inches / 61.2 x 76.2 cm
Out of a Dimming Sky, 2011-12
The Wind Washed Air, 2013
Oil on canvas 20 x 24 inches / 51 x 61 cm
Oil on canvas 20 x 24 inches / 51 x 61 cm
Silver Mists, 2013
The Long Moment, 2013
Oil on canvas 20 x 24 inches / 51 x 61 cm
Oil on canvas 20 x 24 inches / 51 x 61 cm
Seeing the Light, 2013 Oil on canvas 12 x 15 inches / 30.3 x 38.2 cm
Floating in the Silver Haze, 2013 Oil on canvas 12 x 15 inches / 30.3 x 38.2 cm
Evening Calm, 2011-12
In the Flow of Time 2011-2013
Oil on canvas on board 9⅞ x 12 inches / 25.2 x 30.5 cm
Oil on canvas on board 10¼ x 13 inches / 26.3 x 33 cm
The Fall of Light, 2013 Oil on canvas 12⅛ x 14¼ inches / 30.8 x 36.3 cm
Wild Grace, 2012
Approaching Rains, 2012
The Closing Veil, 2012
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
In Still Water, 2012
Alone in the Mountains, 2012
This Beautiful Light, 2012
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
This Golden Light, 2012
Secrets of the Wood, 2012
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11他 x 15他 inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11他 x 15他 inches / 30 x 40 cm
Beyond the Hill, 2012
Water Everywhere, 2012
The Luminous Veil, 2012
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
The Unbounded Sea, 2012
The Quiet Blessing, 2012
Last Light, 2012
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Ice and Light, 2012
The Wild Places, 2012
The Press of Light, 2012
Watercolour, Oil and Gouache on Paper 9¾ x 13¾ inches / 24.6 x 35 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
The Serene Hour, 2012
Looking to Water to see Sky, 2012
Dancing Lights, 2012
Watercolour, Oil, Gouache and Pastel on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil and Gouache on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
Watercolour, Oil and Gouache on Paper 11¾ x 15¾ inches / 30 x 40 cm
BIOGRAPHY 1965 1972-83 1983-87 1987-89 1990
Born Bristol Educated at Clifton College, Bristol Bristol Polytechnic, BA (Hons) Fine Art. Worked in stained-glass Began painting career
Solo Exhibitions 1991 Unit 6,Temple Meads Industrial Estate, Bristol 1992 Coopers Gallery, Bristol 2000 Crane Kalman Gallery, London 2002 Crane Kalman Gallery, London 2003 Six Chapel Row, Bath 2004 ‘Travelling Light’, Crane Kalman Gallery, London 2005 ‘Travelling Light’, Chelsea Art Gallery, Palo Alto, California, USA 2006 ‘Traces in the Air’, Crane Kalman Gallery, London 2008 ‘Grace Notes’, Crane Kalman Gallery, London Group 1984 1987 1988 1988 1990 1991 1991 1991 1992
Exhibitions The Studio Gallery, Bristol The Knapp Gallery, London Pelter/Sands, Bristol Royal West of England Academy, Bristol Brewhouse Open,Taunton Praxis Gallery, Bristol St George’s Crypt Gallery, Bristol Midlands Contemporary Art, Birmingham Plymouth Arts Centre
1994 1994 1995 1996 1996 1997 1998 1999 1999 1999 2000 2001 2001 2001 2002 2003 2003 2004 2005 2011
London Contemporary Art Fair Manchester Contemporary Art Fair Contemporary Art Society, Royal Festival Hall, London ‘Young Blood’ Crane Kalman Gallery, London Schoolhouse Gallery, Bath Contemporary Art Society, Royal Festival Hall, London Schoolhouse Gallery, Bath ‘Nicholas Jones & Janet Watson’ Crane Kalman Gallery Six Chapel Row, Bath Nature in Art,Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester ‘Silence in Painting’, Crane Kalman Gallery, London Napier Gallery, Jersey ARCO, Madrid Glyndebourne The Discerning Eye,The Mall Galleries, London Art 2002, Business Design Centre, London Art 2003, Business Design Centre, London Art Basel-Miami, South Beach, Florida Art 2004, Business Design Centre, London Art 2005, Business Design Centre, London ‘Paintings by Nicholas Jones with sculptures by Tom Stogdon’, Crane Kalman Gallery, London
Prizes 1990 South West Arts Fine Art Project Award Corporate & Museum Collections Brown Brothers Harriman Ltd, London EC2 Lloyds TSB Group Plc, London EC3 Nature in Art,Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester
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