Zebedee Jones’ practice represents experimentations in the process of painting, the mark of the brush and scraping away of pigment creating a raw yet topographic surface that becomes a narrative in itself. As a critically acclaimed abstract painter, Jones’ diverse oeuvre has been variably described as connected to the Neo-Conceptual and process art traditions and today his new work takes on new haptic quality that recalls the work of Jean Dubuffet. Subject matter includes painterly corporeal surfaces featuring hieroglyphic symbols and shapes, interiors, still lives, portraits and figures. Jones’ work seems a dance between abstraction, the artist’s fascinating process and representation. He notes an interest in the work of various iconic masters such as Chaim Soutine, Claude Monet, and Leo Kossoff.
These influences may be seen Jones’ paintings, the application of paint is thick and delightfully tactile and as such painting is transformed into a sculptural object. Using various tools and techniques, the artist scores and changes the surface of each work, connecting his practice to Abstract Expressionism, particularly the commitment to the importance of the act of painting. New impasto heavy works are populated by a process of erasure, scoring and building. In each picture, one can see the mark of the artist, revealed in processes of additions and erasure, creating thickly layered surfaces that welcome meditation and as well curiosity.
The texture of paint as well plays an important role in Jones’ series of images depicting interior scenes of the artist at work, attenuated shades of blue and white punctuated by areas of brown and green. In the newest work the observable world emerges providing a newly intimate view into the process of this renown painter.
Rosa JH Berland
