“say cheeeeese” by Rachel Jones acquired for Southampton City Art Gallery

Contemporary Art Society are pleased to announce that Southampton City Art Gallery have recently acquired say cheeeeese by Rachel Jones for their permanent collection through our Fine Art Acquisition scheme. 

 
Through her curated explosions of colour, Rachel Jones’ paintings translate abstract, existential concepts into something visual and visceral. Her paintings traverse entire spectrums of colour, whilst ensuring balance and moments of visual rest. Layered and complex, her mark-making maintains a sense of immediacy and experimentation, reflecting her journey and progress of attuning herself with her palette. Jones often alludes to half-formed shapes that prompt viewers to search for familiar objects or bodily features - such as teeth, lips, or flowers - but ultimately these elements dissolve back into abstraction. Within her diverse artistic practice, which also includes installation, sound and performance, Jones addresses the interiority of the Black body and what it feels like to be observed in society. Thus, by providing a glimpse of familiarity within abstraction, Jones invites the audience to interpret her work based on their experiences and backgrounds. 

say cheeeeese builds on Jones’ existing artistic oeuvre, repeating the motif of obscured teeth and the orifices that contain them. Only partially legible, these forms signal both a multitude of symbolic and literal entry points to the interior self. Jones’ work extends the use of teeth to incorporate bold, hand-drawn lines over dense blocks of colour. The shapes, marks and tones often clash and overlay, or sit uncomfortably side-by-side, creating differing perspectives. say cheeeeese invites the viewer to contemplate what emotional responses are assigned to a colour or a form, for example, to reconsider red’s association with anger, or blue with sadness, and in doing so, to explore the possibility of contrasting expressions coexisting simultaneously.  

Southampton City Art Gallery houses a prolific collection of Western art, from the Renaissance to the present day, with a strong commitment to British twentieth-century and contemporary paintings. The acquisition of say cheeeeese by Rachel Jones will contribute to the strength of the collection; adding to the narrative of British art across centuries, Jones’ work represents a contemporary take on the body’s relationship with the self. 

Rachel Jones (b. 1991, London, UK) lives and works in London. Recent solo shows include Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg; Long Museum, Shanghai (both 2023); Chisenhale Gallery, London (2022), Thaddaeus Ropac, London; and Harlesden High Street, London (both 2021). Group shows include Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, USA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona, USA; Gallery Futura, Stockholm (all 2022); Hayward Gallery, London, UK; and Drawing Room, UK (all 2021). She was also an artist in residence at The Chinati Foundation, Marfa, Texas in 2019 and the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art in 2016. Recently, Jones was also commissioned by The Roberts Institute of Art as part of their Practising Performance programme to create ‘Hey Maudie’, a performance at St James Church, London, UK. 

Victoria Kosasie 

Curatorial Trainee