By David-Christopher Harris
A&E contributor
dharris@media.ucla.edu
These aren’t your everyday potted plants.
Nor are they meant to be ““ the vibrant hues and monochromes of Jonas Wood’s new exhibition, titled “New Plants,” intentionally takes a loose interpretation of the common household object. Premiering at the Hammer Museum on Feb. 5 and on display until May 9, Wood’s new artwork diverts itself from his previous exhibitions in Tokyo, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles; he focuses on abstract images that allude to, rather than represent, the actual objects he’s painting.
Wood will be premiering as a part of the Hammer project series, which for the past 10 years has dedicated itself to presenting new artistic styles from emerging artists. He gained the inspiration for his new painting style from painting potted plants as still life art, something he’s been doing for the past nine years.
“I chose to paint plants because they’re a necessity I painted from life,” Wood said. “These are purely abstract, and only hold onto a few representational things. I’m keeping in tradition with the history of art ““ the bases sort of represent pots, and the things coming out of them only sort of represent plant life.”
Abstract art is a new approach for Wood. His previous exhibitions displayed primarily intricate paintings, filled with a wide array of colors, images, and spatial depth. The Hammer exhibition, however, focuses instead on a lack of detail, taking advantage of using non-mimetic colors and distorting the scale of the images so the artwork seems to expand beyond the canvas. Viewers will be able to see triangular “plants” with vibrant red “petals,” using geometric shapes as squares and ovals, with colors ranging from black to yellow to red ““ in other words, far from the reality of an actual potted plant.
This new theme in Wood’s career is part of the reason that the Hammer selected him for an exhibition.
“It’s a really new direction for him. This new work is veering more towards abstraction, with almost modernistic sculptures floating in monochromatic fields. This just seems like an interesting time to show his work,” said Corrina Peipon, the curator in charge of the event.
According to Wood, the works “reference modernistic abstract paintings”, a type of style that creates art for the sake of art, using paint to represent itself rather than any one specific image.
“Abstract art is often encountered with difficulty ““ it can be a challenging exhibition experience for the viewer. It doesn’t tell a distinct narrative or show you a clear picture of something happening. It’s a different type of work and thus a different type of experience,” said Tenley Bick, a doctoral student in art history.
And indeed, Wood does not claim that the artwork has any one specific interpretation: “I’m not projecting a specified meaning for the work,” he said. “They’re representing plants, but they’re also about space and color. I don’t think of the individual paintings. … I’m just trying to find my own voice as means to paint from life.” Wood said that seeking one’s own personality and emotions is the most difficult part of being an artist.
“Struggling to find your own voice and understanding how you want things takes a long time. I’ve only been happy with my paintings for the past few years. … Being honest is something that artists continue to deal with their whole life. There are a lot of things to make of that ““ there are many “˜answers,’ but not one “˜right’ one,” Wood said.
Wood was satisfied with his new artwork, however, and said he felt that they did contain parts of himself accurately. The new exhibition will provide the opportunity for viewers to come see for themselves Wood’s perspective and his new abstract approach to painting.
“It was a perfect moment for Jonas ““ he was waiting for the right opportunity to put them out into the world,” Peipon said. “There’s a lot of quietness in his paintings, but also a lot of psychological depth, which creates an intimacy between the viewer and the artist. It’s something that’s not easy to do, but Jonas accomplishes that.”