The gallery will present its first contemporary solo show from the 10th June until the 19th October.
The Dulwich Picture have unveiled details of its Rachel Jones: Gated Canyons exhibition on display from next month.
Known for her expressive choreography of abstract and figurative motifs, distinctive approach to colour and use of un-stretched canvases, this exhibition of Rachel Jones’s work is the first contemporary exhibition to take place in the gallery’s main exhibition space.
The display will feature a newly commissioned body of work, comprising eight large-scale and six smaller works, in addition to selected paintings created during the last seven years of Jones’ practice.
The artist’s work will appear alongside Flemish artist Pieter Boel’sHead of a Hound(c.1660–5). This painting from Dulwich Picture Gallery’s Collection, most likely a preparatory study for a larger work by Boel, resonated with ongoing preoccupations in Jones’ practice and acted as a point of departure for the new commissions.
Spanning across four rooms, the exhibition is curated thematically to highlight different facets ofJones’ distinct visual language. It will explore the ways in which Jones articulates intense emotions both through her use of colour and recurrent motifs such as the mouth, which act as a crucial and continuous source of inspiration. The new works represent a shift in Jones’ practice.Wherein previous works these motifs might have remained amorphous and abstract, here she incorporates a more distinctly legible figuration into her abstractions.
Talking about her work, Rachel Jones said: “The repetition of a mouth filled with teeth is how I play with, subdue, elevate or put meaning and content into ideas around representations of self and Blackness.It’s both specific and very general. Using a work from the Collection as a prompt for these works has significantly deepened my relationship to the history of images, their context and the narratives created around them.”
Jane Findlay,Curator of the exhibition, said:“Rachel Jones’ work is constantly evolving,as she explores how we shift between ourselves and the world. In this new body ofworkshe challenges the boundaries of her creative voice, finding new layers of vulnerability and dimensions of space.I’m excited for people to encounter these all-encompassing charged works and respond to them in the Gallery.”
To book tickets visit: https://www.dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/2025/june/rachel-jones/