Katherine Jones RA

'Dropped Shadows', oil on primed paper 112 x 152 cm

DROP SHADOWS, curated jointly by Oliver Projects London and Sims Reed Gallery in March 2024

'Drop Shadows explores the delicate - and often deceptive - minutia of the natural world, through painting, sculpture and printmaking. Despite their different upbringings in Hertfordshire and Nagaland, Katherine and Temsuyanger’s respective artistic practices share an intense fascination with the subtly transformative forces of nature, and its power to represent both danger and refuge.'

Katherine Oliver curator

above Heliotrope 1, 2, 3 and 4, Collagraph with hand colouring on Somerset paper, 2023, 59 x 89 cm | 78 x 119.5 x 4 cm (framed) variable edition of 20, printed by the artist

'They are so spookily strange - at first sight pretty -then like something haunted from a David Lynch film cast by Diane Albus... I do love how weird they are'

R&F. Mo (artist)

above Soft Ruff, oil on wood panel, 2023, 24.6 x 32.2 cm framed (sold)

above ‘Echo 1’ and ‘Echo 2’, 2023, Oil on wood panel framed 32 x 24.5 x 3cm (sold)

The initial drawings for ‘Echo’ and 'Soft Ruff', were made from decorative ruffs in seventeenth century portraits displayed in the Städel museum, Frankfurt - but like much of the imagery in Katherine’s new works, the forms have morphed into organic abstraction.

For the artist, the way in which the embellished, attention-grabbing ruffs acted as a status symbol relates to the behaviour of flowers in the natural world - ‘what they do, in order to be seen’.

Katherine Oliver - Curator

above installation view with terracotta sculptures by Temsuyanger Longkumer in the cabinet

‘…Katherine's paintings represent a daring new venture for the printmaker. Their tightly-cropped compositions hone in on nature's details and minutiae. At times, their bright colours and transparencies flirt with realms of abstraction and mark-making. Other times, it's like looking at a false-colour image, reconfiguring our brain to look at familiar plant life in a different light. A large diptych in the opening room even manages to envelope our senses with its depiction of flower petals, yet it also feels like we're about to be swallowed up by a Venus fly trap.’

Nigel Ip

above Blinkers, oil on wood panel, 2023, 24.6 x 32.2 cm framed (sold)

...'Drop Shadows places Katherine Jones' prints and paintings in an organic dialogue with the terracotta sculptures of Temsuyanger Longkumer. Both artists have a long-standing interest in the natural world.

Set within the bibliophile spaces of Sims Reed Gallery, there is a feeling of having entered a kunstkammer or cabinet of curiosities. Temsuyanger's prickly sculptures dance along the windowsills and occupy niches in the bookshelves. They feel like living creatures come to life, inspired by the microorganisms that inhabit our world.'

Nigel Ip (art critic/ art historian)

abovw A Pansy Jasmine Broke My Heart and Drop Shadow both Collagraph print on 300gsm Somerset paper, 2023, editon of 25 printed by the artist

above Fleur, oil on wood panel, 2023, 32.2 x 24.6 cm framed (sold)

above Nights in the Forest, and July, both oil on wood panel, 2023, 32.2 x 24.6 cm framed (sold)

This little exhibition is equal parts weird and wonderful, and a bit disconcerting. In fact, it's a bit like Alice in Wonderland, filled with odd creatures and environments that never seem to be quite what you think they are. I don't know how to react to them, but it feels like nature's giving me a warning. The installation is actually quite terrifying the more I think about it. You really have to experience it in person.

Nigel Ip

above Wing Elliptical oil on wood panel, 2023, 32.8 x 47.9 cm framed