Outside Inside

Marilyn Jones
August 2022
This exhibition sees Marilyn Jones continuing her practice of creating abstract compositions based on observations of the world around her. We are treated to a riotous collection of colourful fabrics - from her mother’s ruby red cotton velveteen used in Kirkcaldies sock model to a friend’s delicate hand-dyed 1950s petticoat nylon in Octopus.

Using textiles as a medium, Marilyn's works explore shape, pattern, texture and colour. The works are drawn from photographs taken by the artist over the last few years.

About the Exhibition

Outside Inside

Marilyn creates a visual language by deconstructing forms in the images of landscapes, streetscapes, bush walks, gallery visits and her own domestic surroundings.

She follows a process of transforming sketches to paper patterns to become colour blocks, which are sewn and appliquéd to construct these textile 'paintings'.

Previously shown at the Toi Gallery at Pātaka Art + Museum in 2021, these paintings and sketches magnify snapshots of her daily life. A wonky sketch of Marilyn’s front hallway welcomes us into a sunny interior.

A memory of looking up into tree foliage is distilled using 1950s brocade dress fabric and a chartreuse green wool coating. Marilyn draws inspiration from modernist influences – from ‘drawing in space’ and collage techniques to the contemplation of 1960s minimal abstraction.

About the Artist

Marilyn Jones

Marilyn completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honours at Whiti o Rehua College of Creative Arts at Massey University Wellington. She has been a finalist in several award shows, including the National Contemporary Art Award 2019, Parkin Drawing Prize 2017 and 2018, and the Wallace Art Award 2018.

Since graduating in 2018, exhibitions have included a solo show at Toi Pōneke - Linear Impositions, and involvement with several shows including: An Apparent Change with Essi Airisniemi and most recently textile/adjacent with TheSeeHere.

Marilyn is a member of artist collectives Te Waituhi ā Nuku: Drawing Ecologies and TheSeeHere.