“Slow it down and ensure people get on a bit better.”
Name
Alex Jones
Profession
Artist
Website
Who are you? What do you do?
I am a visual artist who is primarily interested in material language and language as material.
Where are you from?
Brighton, England.
Your style in three words?
Reading, not reading.
Your weakness? Your strength?
Sometimes not listening enough/ I can still kickflip
What makes you different?
I’m not and no one is.
When did you decide to become an artist?#
I have always been interested in art, it is something enjoyable; whenever possible I wanted to be in a situation where I could make things and see how they exist in the world, to stand back and see how it functions in relation to its surroundings.
What do you find fascinating about the creative process?
I currently make paintings or things that operate as paintings and having studied sculpture, painting is something fairly new to me. I feel as though I’m making paintings but thinking like it’s a structure; it’s like the paintings are being built rather than painted. It’s fun because I get to act the role of the painter by using these materials and crafting them in a certain manner but I do not feel like I’m a painter.
A few words about your favourite creation?
6X6 Grisley is one of my favourite pieces, the balance and space of it just works. My use of language always takes the form of a grid (there are 6 letters in a word, so there are 6 words) the image or meaning depicted by those words is of no importance at all, it’s a means to create a form. I find it interesting that people are drawn to the language as an entry into the work, some kind of signifier where the opposite is true. I felt that this text based form sat particularly well on this piece.
Someone elses work who inspires you?
I’m a huge admirer of Ed Rucha and his use of text; the ambiguity and disconnect between image and text is really interesting. Some others whose surfaces and textures are really great include Asger Dyvad Larsen, Wolfgang Voegele and David Ostrowski.
Who would you like to work with someday and why?
It would be cool to chat to Lawrence Weiner about words.
A new project coming up or an idea you want to work on?
I’m interested in taking the blue frames out of the paintings and having them exist as wall based sculptures. I have made a few out of wood but would really like to have some done in steel. The blue frames act like spacing between the text based works, they are the paragraph breaks and punctuation. Taking these from a flat plain to a physical one would be exciting.
Finish the sentence „More important than my career is…“
All the big problems in the world.
2020: Where are we going?
Hopefully back to something resembling normality but with lessons learnt and smarter people steering the ship. And gigs again!
Your city’s favourite spots?
@17gramscoffee lovely little spot in Brighton, good coffee and vegan cakes. And of course, the beach.
Put on your future vision glasses: What direction is our generation moving in, what will our world look like in 50 years?
Everything will be faster and that won’t be a good thing. I think art will still be a standard bearer for crossing all platforms, as new technologies emerge artists will find ways of using it, but also maintain traditions – paint will always be paint.
What would you do if you could change the world?
Slow it down and ensure people get on a bit better.
If the universe is everything and it’s expanding, what is it expanding into?
Something we will never find the end of.
Tell us about your future plans…
I would like to expand my work into larger pieces, bigger blue frame works, really push the potential of the current visual language I’m working with. Learn to switch flip.
Last but not least: what is your favourite Song?
It depends on the moment but a recent find is Regulate, their album ‘In the Promise of Another Tomorrow’ is great, 11:13 kicks it off a treat.
One last statement please: „Wood or stone, gold or art?“
Stone and Art
Your #…?
