Houldsworth is pleased to bring together for the first time the new work of two leading abstract painters, Zebedee Jones and Mark Sheinkman. Although both have previously exhibited in London, this is their first show at the gallery. Both artists play with the two dimensions of the canvas to allude to the third. Jones's canvases are a literal presentation of depth: paint is intensely built up onto the surface. In contrast, depth is suggested beneath the surface of Sheinkman's meticulous paintings and drawings.
Zebedee Jones's monochromes range across a cool spectrum of blacks, browns and greys. All of his paintings are made in the same way: thick layers of pigment are combed, scraped, scored, kneaded and ploughed through, in no particular order, either horizontally or vertically; the excess is left to cling to the sides of the deep stretchers, as if a cumbersome residue. Each work is unique, disclosing an infinite degree of variance despite their uniform manufacture: chance globules of paint are left untouched, brush bristles remain imprinted and wisps of colour hang in the foreground. Light is reflected and immediately scattered, catching the imperfections and getting caught among the crests and troughs of each passing stroke. Jones's paintings are tangible and tactile; projecting a measurable distance from the wall, inviting the viewer to look at all sides of the surface. They are substantial objects; their substance consists entirely of paint.
New York based artist Mark Sheinkman has been working steadily for the past ten years in the most traditional of artistic mediums, oil on canvas and graphite on paper, yet his work belies these methods. Despite their moderate size, the paintings suggest an infinite expanse of space, crossing over between the two and three dimensional. The lines, waves and gentle curves of these mostly monochromatic works reverberate across the canvas, either horizontally or vertically. The push and pull from behind the surface, evoking the third dimension, is felt most strongly in the black and white canvases. Here, the lines look as if they have been woven into the texture of a large cloth. The drawings are less optically ordered, but their manufacture is still highly organised. Despite the look of mechanical perfection, these works are not infallible: erasures, gaps and skips disclose the work of a fastidious but gentle hand.
Since graduating from Chelsea College of Art, Zebedee Jones has had solo exhibitions with Karsten Schubert, Waddington Galleries and most recently with Danese, New York. Group exhibitions include At Sea at Tate Liverpool and Unbound: Possibilities in Painting at the Hayward Gallery, London. Zebedee Jones is represented by Hester van Roijen. Mark Sheinkman studied at Princeton University and has exhibited extensively in Europe and in the US. His work is in numerous public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Metropolitan Museum, New York and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.
