Scribble and the Structures of Depiction

29 November – 5 December 2021, Hardwick Gallery, Cheltenham

Solo exhibition presenting a group of new works by Jonathan Parsons that are the culmination of almost five years of practice-based PhD research at the University of Gloucestershire. His project examines the linear structures found in the earliest developmental stages of children’s drawings and their relationships to the simplest visual communication designs produced by adults. All the works explore particular – and sometimes unexpected – ways of applying coloured materials to various surfaces. These include non-gestural offset impasto ‘blobs’ of paint on canvas, controlled sgraffito on metallic panels and reverse glass paintings made using the technique of Zen calligraphy. The exhibition also includes displays ‘from the studio wall’, which bring together a variety of materials from the artist’s archive of physical practice research. These include notes, sketches, finished drawings and paintings, tables of data, comparative analyses, material test pieces and plans for final installations.

For the gallery floor plan see: Gallery work list.pdf