Rachel Jones, Gated Canyons

Renowned for her striking use of colour, blending of abstract and figurative motifs and distinctive technique, Rachel Jones pushes the boundaries of painting.

Gated Canyons is the first contemporary solo show in Dulwich Picture Gallery’s main exhibition space, and features a compelling new body of work, comprised of large-scale and intimate paintings created with Jones’ signature tools of oil stick and oil pastels, alongside selected works from the last seven years of her practice.

Responding to the Gallery’s historic Collection, Jones takes Flemish artist Pieter Boel’s Head of a Hound (c. 1660–5) as a starting point for the new series, while drawing on the exaggerated expressions and epic architecture found in cartoons such as Looney Tunes.

These paintings playfully explore how our emotions are reflected back to us through our real-world experiences and environments. Discover how colour, shape and form can engage the senses, evoking instinctive responses that don’t have to be explained or resolved.