LOCUST JONES - selected CV
SOLO EXHIBITIONS: (selected)
2010
'Lozenge of dawn,', 24Hr Art, Darwin, Australia
'Elevating a disastrous situation into a catastrophe,' MOP Projects, Sydney, Australia
2009
'HitchHiking in the Donut of Death,' Gallery 9, Sydney, Australia
'What a way to go,' Solander gallery, Wellington, New Zealand (March)
'Ride it 'till it dies,' Rear View, Fitzroy, Melbourne (August)
'Backhanded bullets' , Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand (March)
2008
'I'll Burn that bridge when I come to it,' Until Never, Melbourne, Australia
'Final Notice,' Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch, N.Z.
'The Bird Agents' Tin
Sheds Gallery, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
2007
'Clearing Station' Centre of Contemporary Art, Christchurch,
New Zealand
"Two footsteps into Locust Jones' almost monochromatic park and a gallery
visitor catches me mouth agape, at once hemmed in and struck off balance by
two massive scrolls of paper that stretch the length of the Mair Gallery. Black
acrylic and ink have been applied varyingly, now gossamer, next leather. The
result is an intensely inhabited world - scraggy faces and jagged situations.
A show that is a continuation of Jones's vibrancy..."
Click here for full review from The Press
'Delta park' Sheffer Gallery, Sydney
"...Jones tackles the big picture head on; his epic drawing is a tortured
condensation of everything that is wrong with the world. Climate change and
war morph together in his huge dark inky blobs, a toxic blend of apocalyptic
mushroom clouds and the ghosts of old growth forests..."
Click here for review in the Sydney Morning Herald
2006
'Oh the tangled web.' Damien Minton Gallery, Sydney
'Spin Cycle' Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India
2005
'Live by the Sword' Mahara Gallery, Wellington, New Zealand
"I am obviously not a landscape artist!"
Locust Jones is an artist possessed. It doesn't seem like he really wants to
create, necessarily; he's just got the bug. Like my desk, which looks messy
although I guarantee it's organised and I know where everything is, Jones'
works might initially seem chaotic but it's obvious that each expressive mark
was made with intent. As a result, his ink works and drawings have a satisfying
sense of vigour and clean, raw honesty: his pencil often jerks, but it's never
hesitant; his words are often bumbling, but never contrived - "it is not intended
for people to read it's intended for my sanity!". This rawness is matched by
Jones' juicy thick ink outlines and bold colours - all balanced with surprising
skill considering the apparent spontaneity of execution.
Automatic writing reveals the artist as a compulsive truth-teller, slightly
obsessive and politically preoccupied. Jones overtly vents his anger over American
imperialism and the war in Iraq - his works have been described as "violent"
and there's a viewer discretion warning at the entrance to the show. Yet it
doesn't seem that Jones wishes to impose his views; he simply desperately needs
to vent them. Having travelled widely, Jones feels particularly affected and
troubled by the issues he speaks of. He doesn't distinguish between the personal
and the political, and statements such as "you see my friends I am not certain
about any of this but I have to keep going regardless" disclose that Jones
is deeply concerned, rather than aggressively opinionated. Writing frankly,
Jones relates his political views to observations in Sydney cafés and
intertwines them with talk of upcoming exhibitions and visits from the landlord.
I really recommend this exhibition, as Jones is an expressionist with a refreshing
sincerity and frankness, an unconstrained drive to create (albeit often drug-induced),
and admirable passion for both his art and its subject."
- Review by Renée Gerlich for Salient Magazine
2004
'Poverty Jet set' Espace SD Gallerie, Beirut, Lebanon
"A show of new works by Australian artists Damian Dillon & Locust
Jones, which opens this Thursday May 27th, 2004 at Espace SD Gallerie, Beirut,
Lebanon. Dillon & Jones are both returning to Beirut after their involvement
in the cultural exchange 'Sydney Beirut - Beirut Sydney' at Espace SD in 1999.
Jones woodcut prints, oil paintings & drawings are the product of his New
York residency in 2003 and his self imposed isolation on Mt. Gerald Station
in the south island of New Zealand. Jones often places himself into unusual
environments or confined spaces producing work that is spontanious, determined
by particular time & space without any preconceived plan of the subject
matter"
'Artist in Residence', Beirut, Lebanon
'Amnesia Beyrouth' Riviera Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
"These Paintings were made during my residence in Beirut in May/June
2004. I first came to Beirut in 1999 to participate in a group exhibition of
Australian Artists. I was instantly infected by the virus of the city and its
people. I vigorously returned following an invitation to exhibit a show titled
'Poverty Jet set' in May 2004. The Paintings express a cathartic biographical
diary, with figures and text not dissimilar to a barometer of the exuberant
nature of the cities inhabitants. From the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra
and Chatilla to the ultra-chic over the top enclave of the Christian Riviera
Beach resort - they reflect ideas and situations encountered within the limits
and extremities of this country. They also serve as Maps of places, real and
imaginary, peopled by masked strangers, along with scribblings of the little
Arabic I've learned."
2003
'Lunchtime @ the helicopter gunship training facility,' COCA,
Christchurch, New Zealand
2001
'Ghost Train' Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1999
'Deep in the Woods' Mary Place Gallery, Sydney, Australia
'The Green Line, Beirut' Herringbone Gallery (Imperial Slacks),
Sydney, Australia
1996
'Untitled Paintings' Kas Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1994
'Car Smash' Post Gallery, Sydney, Australia
1993
'Hunt me Down & Kill Me' Airspace Gallery, Sydney, Australia
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (selected)
2010
Navigators, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
No right turn, Penrith Regional Gallery & The Lewers Bequest, Sydney, Australia
2009
I Walk The Line: New Australian Drawing, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, Australia
SMAC Awards, GBK, Sydney, Australia
The written word in contemporary art, Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
The June Fourth Incident, Serial Space, Sydney
Something I said Helen Gory Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2008
888Exhibition, China Heights Gallery, Sydney
2007
Riviera Real Estate, Riviera Gallery, Brooklyn, New York
2005
Diversity 1, Sulkin Secant Gallery, Santa Monica, California
1999
'Sydney Beirut - Beirut Sydney' Espace SD Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon
AWARDS/PRIZES/RESIDENCIES
2010
Winner of Bold Horizon National Contemporary Art Award, Waikato Museum, New Zealand.
Exhibition runs Thru to January 2011
Asialink residency, Seoul, Korea
Hill End residency, New South Wales, Australia
Selected for the Paul Guest Drawing Award
Selected for the Noosa Regional gallery 3D Art prize
Selected for the Sunshine coast art prize
Artist in Residency, Penrith Regional gallery
Selected for the Stanthorpe Art Festival award, Stanthorpe regional gallery
2009
Winner of the Hazelhurst works on paper award
Selected for the Fishers Ghost Art Prize
Selected for the Blake prize for Religious art
Selected for the Geelong Print Prize
Selected for the Fremantle Print Award
2008
Selected for Kedumba drawing award and Fremantle print award
2007
Selected for Hazelhurst works on paper award
2005
Selected for Hazelhurst works on paper award and Fremantle print award
2004
Artist in Residence, Espace SD Gallerie, Beirut, Lebanon
2003
Lower East Side Print Workshop Residency, New York
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Art Bank, Australia
University of Wollongong, Australia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand
Centre of Contemporary Arts, Christchurch, New Zealand
James Wallace Collection, Auckland, New Zealand
National Gallery of Australia
PRESS
2010
June/July edition of Art in America: Review by Roger Boyce
2009
"In the name of art, rub out the drawing board," Andrew Frost for Sydney Morning Herald
"On their marks, get set, go," John Mcdonald for Sydney Morning Herald
ABC Sunday Arts, interview with Fenella Kernebone
"Exhibition Review: Wellington," Catherine Macdonald writer for Imprint Magazine
"Pulp friction," Tracey Clement for The Sydney Morning Herald
2007
"Large-scale comment on life," Jamie Hanton for The Christchurch Press NZ
"The end is nigh - Locust Jones draws a world slowly going to hell." Tracey Clement for Sydney Morning Herald
2005
"Live by the sword," Mark Amery for The Dominion Post, New Zealand
EDUCATION:
1991-3
Bachelor of Visual Arts, Sydney College of the Arts, Australia
2008-10
Master of Visual Arts. Sydney College of the Arts, Australia (completing)
UPCOMING EXHIBITS
2010
Contemporary Drawing Show, MOMA Heide, Victoria, Australia
Untitled, November 7, Whitespace, Auckland, New Zealand
EMPLOYMENT
Drawing lecturer at Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney
Visiting Artist Tutorials at National Art School, Sydney
Print making Visiting Artist/Tutorials New York University and Canterbury University New Zealand.
Sustained self employment as a practicing artist for the past 10 years