Art / Interview THE FORMER COUNTER-TERRORISM-OPERATIVE-TURNEDARTIST RUSS JONES IS BACK IN CHELSEA AFTER A STINT IN MIAMI, DREAMING UP THOUGHTFUL WORKS THAT ASK PROBING QUESTIONS ABOUT LIFE AND SOCIETY WORDS: WILL MOFFITT
MAGICK (2023) OIL ON LINEN
Asking questions
RUSS JONES IS TALKING ABOUT LOVE. It is a concept that he thinks about a lot and one he has sought to investigate by speaking to people and asking them what they think it is and how it is best expressed. “Everyone is entitled to their own view on love,” Jones says. “You learn about it through the media, through your parents. Even your physique impacts how you think about love.” From conducting historical research on the topic – Jones is particularly interested in the
ancient Greek notions of love which treat it as something multifaceted rather than monolithic – to talking to countless people about their thoughts and experiences, he is endlessly fascinated by the concept. Speaking to me at his King’s Road studio dotted with freshly splattered canvases, the former counterterrorism operative makes for fascinating company, opining on all manner of concepts and issues that define our society. “I don’t just sit here all day and paint,” Jones 38