WORK OF THE WEEK : Allen Jones, Blue Sprawl, 2016

Allen Jones
Blue Sprawl, 2016
Aluminium
155 x 275 x 175 cm
61 x 108 ¼ x 68 ⅞ in.

Aside from the cast fibreglass figures, Jones’s principal sculptural achievement resides in the deployment of the cut-metal shapes. This is very much a painter’s sculpture, dealing expertly with issues of two-dimensional illusion, brought into the round. It is largely involved with the manipulation of flat planes of colour, bent and twisted through space, cut and welded rather than moulded, rhythmically bold and vibrant. Jones dextrously orchestrates a meeting of open and enclosed forms in the continuing formal dialogue of opposites – and their reconciliation – which distinguishes his work.'

- Andrew Lambirth, Allen Jones Works, 2005

Allen Jones (b.1937) is internationally recognised as a pioneer of the Pop Art movement during the 1960s. Jones' sculpture has evolved to portray expressive and stylised compositions involving figures in movement and performance. Blue Sprawl is a continuation of these dynamic, figurative forms for which he is best known.

Allen Jones (b. 1937) studied at Hornsey College of Art and at the Royal College of Art where he worked alongside David Hockney, Peter Phillips and R.B. Kitaj. He has taught at art institutions around the world, including the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg, the University of California, the Berlin University of the Arts and the Banff Center School of Fine Arts in Canada. He has exhibited internationally, including a major retrospective at the Royal Academy in 2014. Allen Jones was awarded the Prix des Jeunes Artistes at the 1963 Paris Biennale and is a Senior Academician at the Royal Academy of Arts. Jones' works are held in a number of major public collections including the Tate, the Museum Ludwig, the Warwick Arts Centre and the Hirshhorn Museum, Washington.

Allen Jones' solo exhibition 'From the Gods' will open on 26 April 2024 at Almine Rech Gallery in Paris. Allen Jones has also illustrated a new limited edition of Aldous Huxley's 'Brave New World' which will be released later this year.