WORK OF THE WEEK: Allen Jones, Blue Sprawl, 2016
Allen Jones
Blue Sprawl , 2016
Aluminium
155 x 275 x 175 cm
61 x 108 ¼ x 68 ⅞ in.
In wishing Allen Jones a very happy 88th birthday, the New Art Centre is celebrating his much admired and distinctive work, such as Blue Sprawl. A driver of the Pop movement in the 60s, Jones established himself as an iconic and controversial Pop artist, making waves of thought and discourse around his pieces.
In recent years his work has evolved to portray expressive and stylised compositions involving figures in movement and performance. Jones has been sculpting with sheet metal since the 1980s; although 2D, he bends his sculptures with graceful curves, emulating a sense of femininity whilst also creating a 3D effect. His sheet metal sculptures are elegant and graceful, yet Jones' use of colour bring a vibrancy to the pieces, reminiscent of his roots in Pop Culture.
Allen Jones
High Wire, 2006
Aluminium, painted
264 x 152 cm
8ft 8 in. x 5ft
Jones studied at Hornsey College of Art and at the Royal College of Art where he worked alongside David Hockney, Peter Phillips and R.B. Kitaj. He has taught at art institutions extensively in the UK, North America and Germany including at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg, the University of South Florida, the University of California, the Berlin University of the Arts and the Banff Center School of Fine Arts in Canada. Jones has exhibited internationally in solo and group exhibitions. He has also been awarded a number of accolades for his work including the Prix des Jeunes Artistes at the 1963 Paris Biennale and he is a Senior Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Allen Jones
Sabine, 2020
Corten steel
225 x 165 x 130 cm
88 ⅝ x 65 x 51 ⅛ in.