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“How did you get on this canvas?” Lucy Jones at Flowers
Gallery
As the title of this show at Flowers implies, Lucy Jones openly
defies expectations in regard to who is ‘supposed’ to be shown on a canvas, the
purpose for depicting a subject and even who is ‘entitled’ to create art. Inherent
in the show is also a reflection on how potently affected we can be by the gaze
of others and the extent to which the expectations of others to see the predictable
and conforming might be able to inhibit our own actions and the gratification and
liberation we should derive from life.
This not-to-be-missed exhibition presents self-portraits
from Jones covering the last 25 years. Jones’ first show was in the 80s and her
work was found to be so original, raw and engaging that the Metropolitan Museum
immediately swooped up two paintings.
The eye catchers in this show for me involved Jones’
frank exploration of desire and sexuality. She suffers from cerebral palsy but
the pieces are not about cerebral palsy or the act of physical suffering. The
Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi profoundly explored issues of alienation and
longing for emotional and physical contact arising from his inability to
conform to the physical aesthetic of others, but Lucy Jones takes an even
bolder step in a painting like “Flushed.”
We see her wearing a frilly, sexy bra as she claims her right to
experience sexual desire despite any overarching aesthetic conceptions of
beauty currently adopted.
So the show invites a greater look at what exactly might
be stopping us from fully exploring our inner lives and realities and what
might be stopping each of us from taking a bold step forward and entering into
a state of full and risky (and possibly transformative) experience. Perhaps
Jones wants us to think about what it is outside of ourselves that is
inhibiting our full human development – whether it be the demands and standards
of parents or society to compete and succeed on a superficial or economic level
or aspects of our physical selves that we are sure will bring scorn and
reproach from others.
In these paintings Jones basically states that she, like
everyone, has the right to experience the full gamut of the human experience
and that the gaze of others will always be out there, but we don’t need to allow
that gaze to penetrate in such a manner as to stop us from truly living.
Initially I thought that Jones had to be a little aggressive to actually depict
herself in the manner in which she does in these paintings, but now I think
it’s not really aggression – it’s a type of liberation and self-acceptance that
allows her to be free of the harsh judgments of others. Also, as in the case of
Leopardi’s poetry, I sense a deep compassion and humanity (as well as a wry
sense of humor) in Jones’ work. From her experiences Jones radiates, through
her paintings, a deep love for each individual and a call for greater community
and humanity and fellow-feeling in place of critical judgment and narrow
standards.
Lucy Jones
How Did You Get on This Canvas?
April 9 – May 9, 2015
Flowers Gallery
529 W. 20th Street
New York, NY 10011
www.flowersgallery.com
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