Laura Jones - Wildflower

LAURA JONES Wildflower 2 – 20 March 2016

Wildflower - She is a metaphor for who we could be as a society, a symbol of our unique environment, a motif for strength and femininity. This show is a dedication to her.

Laura Jones 2016

Cover: Banksia Speciosa Stem Oil on linen, 60 x 50cm, 2016

Banksia Speciosa and striped cloth Oil on linen, 112 x 92cm, 2016

In her first solo exhibition at Olsen Irwin, Laura Jones celebrates the Australian wildflower. While knowingly engaging with the lineage of still life, her paintings are contemporary renditions of the genre.

Tiny stems of kangaroo paw or flowering gum are placed in crystal vases and scaled up for a fresh perspective. Jones, who has worked as a florist, has an observation based studio practice, setting up the arrangements and painting from life.

Addicted to the powerful symbology of the ephemeral bloom, Jones juxtaposes wildflowers with their European counterparts in a series of paintings that declare a deep respect for the importance of flowers in both art and life.

Banksia, Hydrangea and Balloon Plant Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

"The still life is seen as a gendered genre, a woman’s genre, from Margaret Preston to Margaret Olley. It is traditionally domestic, feminine and beautiful. By focusing on this genre, and indeed the female portrait, Jones knowingly engages with this lineage. It represents a poetry of the intimate, the friend and the home and in this way women’s power.

This is perfectly mirrored in the generosity of spirit behind the painting of the work. Jones’ work, whether portrait or still life, is based in studio observation. She sets up her subject in her studio and draws from life. Her work exudes a stillness and mindfulness that has struck a chord in many people. She is an astute observer of texture, colour and line and looks carefully always at “the thing” in front of her; her paintings never fall back on an overarching style or method and there is a searching quality in her work."

Oliver Watts 2015 on I woke up like this

Eucalyptus Macrocarpa Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

Burnt Banksia and Hollyhocks Oil on linen, 142 x 142cm, 2015

Firewheel Oil on linen, 112 x 112cm, 2016

Flannel Flowers Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

Kangaroo Paw and Mulla Mulla with Roses and Dahlia Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

Flannel Flowers and Banksia Robur Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

"As a painter of still life, Laura works in a genre that continues to evolve and adapt with the times despite its traditional origins. She utilises finely honed observational skills to capture the fleeting beauty of flowers but without being overly concerned with the minutiae of a botanic artist."

Jane Watters, 2014, from catalogue essay for Laura Jones exhibition “Punch�

Mulla Mulla Oil on linen, 71 x 61cm, 2016

Flowering Gum and striped cloth Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

Grevillea, Flowering Gum and Hydrangea Oil on linen, 112 x 92cm, 2016

“Flowers are now a symbol of a fragile planet. In the twenty-first century, when honeybees are dying from colony collapse disorder and climate change threatens species survival, our response to flowers as symbols of nature is not disinterested.”

“The ‘useless beauty’ of flowers- their absurdly short lives, their indifference to the human world, their envied freedom- is not just useful to the history of Australian culture; it is inseparable from national culture.”

"Useless Beauty: Flowers and Australian Art" by Ann Elias (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2015)

Rhodantha Oil on linen, 50 x 40cm, 2016

Silver bunch Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2015

Sturt Desert Pea Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

Summer Snow Oil on linen, 152 x 122cm, 2016

Tallerack in crystal vase Oil on linen, 112 x 92cm, 2015

BIOGRAPHY 1982 Born in Sydney EDUCATION 2006 Master of Art (Printmaking), College of Fine Arts, UNSW, Sydney 2003 Bachelor of Arts (Asian Studies), University of Sydney SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2016 Wildflower, Olsen Irwin, Sydney 2015 I woke up like this, Gallery Ecosse at Chalk Horse Gallery, Sydney Laura Jones- Still Life, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW 2014 Punch, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW Shadow and Soul, TDF Collect, Melbourne Light is Fugitive, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW 2013 With Flowers, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney The Conductor’s Project, St James and Museum Stations, Sydney 2012 On Air, Maunsell Wickes Gallery, Sydney 2011 Mon Coeur (Into My Own), Sheffer Gallery, Sydney GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2016 Flora Australia, Bega Regional Gallery, NSw 2015 Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize, Lismore Regional Gallery, NSW Portia Geach Memorial Award, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney Sydney Contemporary Art Fair, Olsen Irwin, Carriageworks, Sydney Manning Art Prize: Naked & Nude 2015, Manning Regional Art Gallery, NSW Mug Shot, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW Kogarah Art Prize, Kogarah Library and Cultural Centre, Sydney NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize, NSW Parliament, Sydney Group Show: 5 Artists, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW In the Still, Arthouse Gallery, Sydney 2014 Portia Geach Memorial Award, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney The Shirley Hannan Portrait Award, Bega Regional Gallery, Bega, NSW The Boondocks Experiment: Off the Beaten Track, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW Efflorescent- A Contemporary Take, Goulburn Regional Gallery, Goulburn, NSW 2013 Portia Geach Memorial Award, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney On the table- Still lives, Olsen Irwin Gallery, Sydney Autoportrait, Gallery Ecosse, Exeter, NSW

Yen Female Art Award Finalists Exhibition, Gaffa, Sydney 2012 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize, Moran House, Sydney 2011 Portia Geach Memorial Award, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney Salon des Refuses, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney Grantpirrie Editions: Suite 1, Grantpirrie Gallery Offsite, Sydney 2010 Portia Geach Memorial Award, S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney 2008 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship, Brett Whiteley Studio, Sydney The Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney 2007 Smash Hits, Parramatta Artists’ Studios, Sydney Blacktown City Art Prize, Blacktown Arts Centre, Sydney The Mosman Art Prize, Mosman Art Gallery, Sydney 2006 COFA Annual, Cofaspace, University of New South Wales, Sydney The Last Supper, Kudos Gallery, University of New South Wales, Sydney 2005 Thai- Australia Contemporary Prints, Chiang Mai University, Thailand COFA Spring Fair Printmakers’ Exhibition, COFA, UNSW, Sydney Money Makes the World Go ‘Round’, Kudos Gallery, UNSW, Sydney AWARDS 2015 Hurford Hardwood Portrait Prize (Finalist) Manning Art Prize: Naked & Nude 2015, Manning Regional Art Gallery (Finalist) The Kogarah Art Prize (Finalist) NSW Parliament Plein Air Painting Prize (Finalist) 2014 Portia Geach Memorial Award (Finalist) The Shirley Hannan Portrait Award (Finalist) 2013 Portia Geach Memorial Award (Finalist) Yen Female Art Award (Finalist) 2012 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize (Finalist) 2011 Portia Geach Memorial Award (Finalist) Salon des Refuses (Finalist) 2010 Portia Geach Memorial Award (Finalist) 2008 Brett Whiteley Travelling Art Scholarship (Finalist) The Mosman Art Prize (Finalist) 2007 Blacktown City Art Prize (Finalist) The Young Emerging Artists’ Award, Mosman Art Prize (Winner) RESIDENCIES 2011 Drawing Marathon, New York Studio School of Painting, Drawing and Sculpture, New York, USA Printmaking at Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Skopelos Island, Greece 2000 Student Exchange Program, Kashiwa High School, Japan

LAURA JONES Wildflower 2 – 20 March 2016 View full exhibition and price list here.

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