Hashimoto Contemporary, NYC is pleased to present Country, a solo exhibition by Illinois-based artist Erik Jones. Country will be Jone's second exhibition with the gallery and continues his investigation of figure, form, and composition, intermixing elements of hyperrealism and geometric expressionism. By rendering his subjects in a hyperreal aesthetic, Jones enshrouds his subjects in a colorful swell of shapes, color, and form.
For his latest body of work, Jones was inspired by a recent move to Illinois and the outsider folk art he encountered there. Acknowledging these newfound sources while contemplating the concept of kitsch, his six new paintings draw influence from various ideas around him. To achieve his intuitive aesthetic, Jones digitally-laid out the compositions, configuring them as if collaging the various elements. Drawing from Internet sources, the artist changes the intent of the original images through color and composition, creating a brand new narrative.
Typically utilizing a wide range of mixed mediums, the artist pared down his tools for this new body of work, focusing solely on pencil and acrylic paint while maintaining his signature aesthetic. Juxtaposing garish bright colors and idyllic backgrounds with a hyperreal figure, Jones strives to evoke a sense of beauty. Nude figures are painted in energetic blocks of vibrant color gradients and shape, creating hybrid figures that frenetically carry the viewer to an unknown place where the familiar and fantastical merge.
Country will be opening at Hashimoto Contemporary on Saturday, June 1, 2019, with the artist appearing for an opening reception from 6 to 8 pm. The exhibition will be on display through June 22, 2019.
