Mary Jones
b. Granite Hills, NC
STATEMENT
Writing about painting in a New Yorker review, critic Peter Schjeldahl says, “No other medium can as yet so directly combine vision and touch to express what it’s like to have a particular mind, with its singular troubles and glories, in a particular body.”
This seems especially relevant to me.
I rely on process and layering to invite a psychological reading, at the edge of my control, that haptically connects to a shared consciousness. My paintings find fragments of recognizable form through an intuitive process of layered abstraction. They’re heavily worked and, along with courting improvisation and spontaneity, I’ve begun to embrace metaphors of biography as part of the content. It’s a physical process and reinforces a bodily connection; scraping, sanding, collage, industrial spray paint and house paint rollers are all utilized, embedding the motions, ghosts, construction and destruction that each painting undergoes as part of the facture.
The colors refer to earth, clay, and sky, but the natural color is jolted with the synthetic fluorescent orange of industry. I use commercial paint rollers and spray paint to simultaneously reference both the gesture of making a mark and its erasure to signify one’s individuation. This double function not only charts my movement across the canvas but also represents a cancellation, a ground for a new beginning, in the way that graffiti is painted out with primer on an urban wall.
In a series of works on paper, I repurpose--through collage--the stencils that I made as tools for paintings 15 years ago. These are worn, spattered with paint, and fully representative of their studio function and history. As with the roller works, the repurposed stencils cover my gestures, a reversal of their original function. I work to make a syntheses of the old and new, a literal layering of history. And the process has recently expanded. I’m using a trove of X-rays from my late in-laws. These paintings are constructed as portraits so that another kind of reversal is created--the experience of seeing the inside of someone first. The X-rays also mask the abstraction behind the images. There’s a confrontation with the transgressive technological infiltration into our lives and the radiation we submit to for all kinds of reasons.
Through process, the sense of the hand and the archeology of time and materials can bring painter and viewer together in an act that enlivens imagination. The work becomes a kind of biography.
EDUCATION
MFA, BFA, University of Colorado, Boulder
SELECTED ONE & TWO PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2022
"Interior Design, Pt. 1," Steffany Martz, NYC
“Body Transfer," SVA Flatiron Gallery (with Ariane Lopez-Huici), NYC
2020
“Attachments,” High Noon, NYC
2019
“Travel Light,” High Noon, NYC
2017
“Conversation,” Hudson Guild Gallery, (with Denise Adler), Hudson, NY
2016
John Molloy Gallery, NYC
2013
Studio 7D, NYC
2012
“Floating Explosions” The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, Ca. (with Bobbie Oliver)
2008
Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006
Jancar Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, CA
2005
Cenci Gallery, Rome, Italy
2004
Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, NYC
2003
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, CA
2002
“Bower of Bliss” Cynthia Broan, NYC (with Mary Beth Gregg)
2001
Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, NYC
Robert Green Fine Arts, Mill Valley, CA
2000
Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, NYC
1995
Bill Maynes Gallery, NYC
1993
Tom Cugliani Gallery, NYC
Ovsey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. 1989, 1988, 1986, 1985, 1983
1989
Hanes Art Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021
Faculty Biennial, RISD Museum, Providence, R. I.
2019
“Divine Intervention,” curated by Teri Hackett, Christ Episcopal Church, Sag Harbor, NY
2019
“Incise, Echo and Repeat,” curated by Camilia Fallon and Kylie Heidenheimer, NYC
2018
“Music for your Ears,” OCCCA, Newport, Ca., curated by Peter Frank
2018
“3 Days at Custom Cabinets,” LA, Ca.
2017
“Friends of the Gallery,” Mitchell Algus Gallery, NYC
The Painted Desert, High Noon, NYC
Alternative Facts, curated by Denise Adler, Pleiades Gallery, NYC
Holding it Together, curated by Teri Hackett, Brooklyn, NY
2016
Future Past Perfect, MS Barbers Gallery, Curated by Lauren Comito, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Future Past Perfect, Projekt 722, Curated by Lauren Comito, Brooklyn, NY
Repose, Hall St. Projects, Curated by Hovey Brock, Brooklyn, NY
Phase III, Mammal Gallery, Atlanta, GA
2014
Cultural Guerrillas, Hudson Guild, Curated by Denise Adler, New York, NY
Nature Doesn't Knock, The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2013
Flux/Quirk, The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Elven@7D, studio 7D, Curated by Allen Furbeck, New York, NY
Little Languages, Coded Pictures, Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY
2012
Between the Two: Six Artists from New York, The George Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2011
Haywire, Storefront, Bushwick, NY
Paper A-Z, Sue Scott Gallery, New York, NY
Neo-Vitruvian: The Body Now, curated by Richard J. Goldstein, Hal Bromm gallery, New York, NY
2009
Williams Studio Art Faculty Exhibition, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA
2008
Works on Paper, Michael Steinberg Fine Art, New York, NY
2007
Diving in the Decadent Ditch of Des Essientes, New York, NY
Dutch Barn Show, Clinton Corners, NY
2003
Timelines, Signal 66, Washington, D.C.
2002
Landscape, Lindsey Brown, New York, NY
2001
Four Painters, Lindsey Brown, New York, NY
Works on Paper, Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, New York, NY
2000
Group Show, Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, New York, NY
Le Salon, London, England
1999
Immediacies of the Hand, Hunter College, New York, NY
1998
Baroque Geometry, Marlborough Gallery, Chelsea, NY
Jeffrey Coploff Fine Art, NYC
485.73482 Cycles per/sec, 76 Varick, New York, NY
1997
Summer Invitational, Steffany Martz, New York, NY
Push, 450 B'way Gallery, New York, NY
Stellar Spectra, Mary Barone, New York, NY
The Enduring Presence, Roland Gibson Gallery, SUNY, Potsdam, NY
1996
The Enduring Presence, Ewing Gallery, U. Of Tenn., Knoxville, TN
1995
Group show, Kasmin Gallery, New York, NY
1994
Small Abstract Painting, Bill Maynes Gallery, New York, NY
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Broad Art Foundation, Los Angeles
George and Betty Woodman, NYC John Guest Ltd. (London)
Security Pacific Bank, Los Angeles
Celebrity Cruises art collection
Prudential Life
Wells Fargo Bank
The Carnation Company
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Goldner, Liz, “Nature Doesn’t Knock," http://artscenecal.com/archive/810-qnature-doesnt-knockq
Frank, Peter, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/haiku-reviews-_n_2397584.html 1/02/2013
Chapline, Jonathan, http://ffffffwalls.com/2012/11/mary-jones-chelsea/
Estenger, Max, http://maxestenger.blogspot.com/2012/05/in-studio-with-mary-jones.html. In The Studio with Mary Jones, May 26, 2012
Kienholz, Lyn. “L.A. Rising: SoCal Artists before 1980,” The California/International Arts Foundation 2010
Mallinson, Constance. Art in America, review, May 2007
Frank, Peter. “Addition/Reduction,” Mary Jones LA Weekly Wed. January 10, 2007
Chang, Richard. ARTnews, review, June 2007
Pagel, David. Los Angeles Times, Friday, Dec. 22, December 2006
Jashinsky, Judy. “time lines,” catalogue, 2003
Garwood, Deborah. “Bower of Bliss,” catalogue, 2002
Yablonsky, Linda. “Mary Jones,” catalogue, 2002
Bourbon, Matthew. NY Arts, “Mary Jones,” review, Feb. 2000
Sheets, Hilarie M. ARTnews, “Mary Jones,” review, June, 2000
Johnson, Ken. NY Times, “Baroque Geometry,” Friday, Jan. 8, 1999
Cotter, Holland. NY Times, “Immediacies of the Hand,” Friday, April 9, 1999
Smith, Roberta. NY Times, "Hothouse" review, Friday, Sept. 6, 1996
Drier, Deborah. "Vision At Sea," catalogue, 1996
Barrett, Chris. "Happy Chaos," Metro Pulse (Tennessee) 1996
Mills, Dan. "The Enduring Presence," catalogue, 1996
Hirsch, Faye. “Mary Jones: Color Sense,” catalogue, 1995
Saltz, Jerry. Art in America, "A Year in the Life" Oct. 1994
Smith, Roberta. New York Times, "Review" Friday, Dec. 10, 1993
Frank, Peter. LA Weekly, "Art Pick of the Week" Friday, Dec. 8, 1989
Curtis, Cathy. Los Angeles Times, Calendar Galleries Friday, Nov. 24, 1989
Pincus, Robert L. Art in America, "Mary Jones At Ovsey" Sept. 1988
Donahue, Marlene. Los Angeles Times, Friday, Feb. 26, 1988, Part IV
McKenna, Kristine. Los Angeles Times, Friday, Sept. 26, 1986 Part IV
McCloud, Janet. ARTWEEK, "An Integration of Opposites," March 9, 1985
Muchnic, Suzanne. Los Angeles Times, Friday, March 1, 1985 Part IV
Pincus, Robert L. Los Angeles Times, Friday, Oct. 21, 1985
Christenberry, William. ARTFORUM, "Directions, 1983" Oct. 1983
Silverthorne, Jeanne. ARTFORUM, Oct. 1983
Ashbery, John. Newsweek, "Biennials Bloom In The Spring"
Fleming, Lee. Images & Issues, "What's At Issue Is The Issue" Sept/Oct 1983
Knight, Christopher. Los Angeles Herald Examiner, "California Living-Art Inc."
Drohojowska, Hunter. Los Angeles Herald Examiner, "Making Art In The M-Zone", June 20, 1982
Knight, Christopher. Los Angeles Herald Examiner, "Mary Jones: Art That Runs Silent, Runs Deep,” April 11, 1982