{"id":308556,"date":"2025-08-01T06:28:22","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308556\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T06:28:22","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T06:28:22","slug":"gated-canyons-review-from-a-flemish-dog-to-a-riot-of-colour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308556\/","title":{"rendered":"Gated Canyons review \u2014 from a Flemish dog to a riot of colour"},"content":{"rendered":"

The soft, slack, moist corner of a hound\u2019s drooping mouth is the slightly unexpected starting point for this dynamic exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery in London of work by the young British contemporary artist Rachel Jones<\/a>. Invited to respond to the permanent collection, Jones chose the 17th-century Flemish painter Pieter Boel\u2019s close-up study of a hunting dog, the head lifted as if in anticipation of \u2026 what? A treat? A directive? A reprimand?<\/p>\n

\"Oil<\/p>\n

Head of a Hound (c 1660-5), by Pieter Boel<\/p>\n

Next to Jones\u2019s riotously colourful new body of work \u2014 14 mostly huge paintings titled Gated Canyons (shown alongside a selection of earlier, smaller works chosen by the artist to place them in the context of her developing practice) \u2014 the throughline from this naturalistic little painting, near monochromatic in blacks, browns, whites and greys, is not immediately obvious. But the tension and ambiguity in Boel\u2019s intimate picture is reflected in Jones\u2019s vast canvases, while the motif of the mouth has haunted her work for years. She finds it fascinating, literally and symbolically, regarding it as an entry point to the interior self, an aperture through which what is inside can come out, for better or worse. It\u2019s a stand-in for the body, and it serves as a way to explore emotion and how it doesn\u2019t always translate on the outside.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Read more art reviews, guides and interviews<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

It probably helps to have a bit of this context but it\u2019s not essential. These paintings occupy a hinterland between abstraction and figuration, and Jones, who at 34 has already developed a unique visual language, has attempted to create an environment that allows the viewer an instinctive, rather than intellectual, response to their vivid reds, spearmint greens, rich purples and emphatic yellows. The exhibition spaces use natural light where possible to avoid leading visitors to any sort of response by spotlighting the works.<\/p>\n

\"Rachel<\/p>\n

The paintings occupy a hinterland between abstraction and figuration<\/p>\n

EVA HERZOG<\/p>\n

The installation, with plentiful seating, encourages you to spend time with them \u2014 you\u2019re not meant to whizz through but to sit and allow her shifting, vibrating abstractions to envelop you. You should pay attention to how they make you feel, rather than trying to work out what they represent or mean.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The best exhibitions in London and the UK to book<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, you can pick out mouths and teeth, as well as the odd brick wall (a new thing). Is that a grin or a grimace? Could it, Joker-like, be both? And is that a landscape? A rippling expanse of water? And of course there are layers of meaning \u2014 the unspeaking mouth is remarkably eloquent, evoking the oversexualisation of women or racial caricature. But these are expressive works that are meant to be felt \u2014 and, given time, they leave you tingling.
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London, to Oct 19, <\/b>dulwichpicturegallery.org.uk<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

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