“FROM THE GODS” AN EXHIBITION BY ALLEN JONES AT ALMINE RECH, PARIS

From the Gods, British artist Allen Jones’ third solo exhibition at Almine Rech Paris, deconstructs his radical oeuvre. The idea is a constant dialogue with art movements, particularly the conversation between abstract expressionism and hyperrealism. Through his paintings and sculptural works – impregnated by his personal obsessions – Jones explores notions of time, the female form, and the provocatively erotic. A curious concoction, the exhibition is a testament to Jones’ artistic practice since turning eighty in 2017.

Through a series of oil paintings, Jones delves into a theatrical discourse anchored in the relationship between painter and observer. One canvas portrays a paradoxical powerplay: an audience seated with ‘the Gods,’ observing an absent performance from above, placing the spectator on a temporary pedestal. A clash of contemporary techniques illustrate Jones’ continuous cycle of reinvention – oil paintings next to printed works, a photograph ingrained on composite panel.

In the main room, a large corten-steel sculpture of a woman with her legs crossed, oscillating between themes of female empowerment and pure desire. A paneled sculpture breathes life into controversy as Jones’ fiberglass women-as-furniture make a cameo in the left hand panel, resurrected as robot-like video animations. Another panel depicts the stairs leading up to Sigmund Freud’s consulting room, intertwining theories on the void and the uncanny.

On view at Almine Rech Paris until May 25th.

64 rue de Turenne

75003 Paris, France

Text by Linnéa Ruiz Mutikainen

Images provided by Almine Rech and Linnéa Ruiz Mutikainen

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter