The Pallant House Gallery and Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft have both announced exhibitions reassessing the work of the artist David Jones this Autumn.
The Animals of David Jones and David Jones: Vision and Memory will provide an opportunity for visitors to re-examine the work of one of the most significant British artists of the 20th century. Collectively, both exhibitions will bring together over 120 pieces of his work from public and private collections and from across Jones’ entire artistic output.
The range of work to be featured includes sketches drawn in the trenches of the Western Front, all the way through to works Jones made while he was living in Ditchling.
David Jones: Vision and Memory opens at the Pallant House Gallery on the 24th October and is the gallery’s major Autumn show. It will trace the recurring themes in Jones’ work, concentrating on his achievements as an engraver and watercolourist between 1926 and 1932.
Meanwhile, the exhibition at Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft will focus on Jones’ fascination with animals – a theme that continued throughout his career.
Both of the exhibitions will coincide with the centenary of World War I, during which Jones served as a foot soldier with the Royal Welch Fusiliers from 1915-1918 and during which he was wounded in action at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. This experience helped to create his artistic vision. Each display of his work will feature his drawings that he made during his time in the trenches.
David Jones: Vision and Memory will feature 80 works and is curated by Paul Hills and Ariane Banks, who have also written a book to complement the exhibition. After its display at the Pallant House Gallery is completed, it will then tour to the Djanogly Gallery in Nottingham from the 12th March to the 5th June 2016.
Meanwhile, The Animals of David Jones will include woodcuts, carvings and drawings featuring animals. It will be accompanied by a commission of new works by Mark Herald, an artist influenced by David Jones’ animal works.
The Animals of David Jones is on at the Ditchling Museum of Art and Craft from the 24th October 2015. – 6th March 2016.
David Jones: Vision and Memory is on display at the Pallant House Gallery from the 24th October 2015 until 21st February 2016.