Jonas Wood

Gagosian is pleased to present an exhibition of ten new paintings by Jonas Wood, together with two sets of related drawings in Hong Kong this fall. This is Wood’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong.

The concept for the exhibition stemmed from the artist’s mid-career survey at the Dallas Museum of Art in 2019 when he reencountered Polka Dot Orchid (2015), a painting he had made of a single plant against a black background. The work was hung alongside other paintings of isolated plants in a room wallpapered with repeating tennis balls. Following that exhibition, and over the course of the lockdown period of 2020, Wood continued to consider the idea of making works on black grounds and the opportunity of hanging them together.

The new paintings continue Wood’s exploration into motifs of fruits, flowers, and houseplants. Depicting brilliantly hued orchids and succulents, full bunches of bananas, and a robust monstera plant, he uses plants as a vehicle to experiment with color and geometry, isolating the forms on monochromatic backgrounds to explore color theory, pattern, and line.