Caroline PM Jones

Artist Statement

“Los Angeles laid fallow in my subconscious like a dream I hadn’t had.”

Early plein air paintings in LA captured the Urban Landscape, filled with light and colour and the creative spirit of the sun-bleached avenues of Sony studios. I began working on monumental Sculptural portraits in marble, icons of feminine and masculine influenced by the art deco tradition of early Hollywood and the structural strength of the industry.

Next came The Pool series – Oil on canvas, linen, aluminum and paper. Sculptures in marble, limestone and Rhyolite. Video Installations. I was focused on the fluidity of water and childhood and the inspiration and disruption of motherhood. The disintegration of form in this amniotic fecundity, was illuminated in this dry hot bed of light.

From that began a journey into more anamorphic forms and the “Flesh Folds series” was born out of stone, metal, wood and plaster. Sculptural forms juxtaposed Mozart alabaster with snow chains and steel in a series of works that create a narrative for the strong and the feminine.

My most recent series is “FORMATIONS,” the monolithic and ancient rock formations of Joshua Tree and the high desert.   Oil on canvas, works on paper, Ceramics, Marble, and video installation.

I journeyed once again in the quest to find an allegorical tale this time of landscapes and portraitures in nature. Like the formations themselves I exposed myself to the wind and the heat and the sounds of the desert. What stayed with me is the novelty of these miraculous forms, how they have come together or fallen apart like families. They stand or lie in various stages, unified, cracked, broken, proud, majestic and strong.

The Plein Air Paintings capture the raw limitation and simplicity of line caused by the natural editing process of time and light. The Studio Oils - reflect the intimate experience of that time in a picture perfect moment with a hipstamatic tonal hue. The Sculpture – is a perfect combination of earth and idea, the act of carving the “Formations” out of stone was a journey in itself. The process allowed me to ‘travel’ across surfaces, spending time in the crevices, cutting the stone, chiseling the shapes and sanding the form. The fired clay sculptures have purposefully undergone a process not too dissimilar to the actual life cycle of the Mojave Monoliths. The videos pieces were recorded as I journeyed to and from these plutonic intrusions; and the soundscapes created with them speak to the space and the intermittent nature of the “off grid” experience in the Joshua Tree National park.

www.cpmjones.com