Sarah Jones

In her third solo exhibition at Anton Kern Gallery, British artist Sarah Jones will show a group of photographs that she took during two extended stays at a colony for artists, writers, and musicians. The images, large-scale color prints (48 x 48 inches), take their cue from the austere interior of the studio spaces and follow their strict formal set-up. They each depict a section of a modest couch covered with a bedspread in front of a bare interior wall.

Images of the artists’ place of relaxation and contemplation (or whatever other activity) are of course emotionally charged and invite all kinds of readings. However, this anecdotal drive is subdued by Jones’ strong concern with light and color as well as with the flattening of the photographic space and keeps the viewer’s urge for narrative fulfillment in check. The austerity of the images contradicts the latent sensuality and narrative associations of the motif. Jones’ formal concerns exist in spite of the possibility of emotional content.