Jonas Wood's landscape paintings, like his interiors, are distinguished by a blend of vivid colors, flattened perspectives, and a quasi-abstract logic that disassembles and reassembles everyday scenes into complex, layered compositions. His landscapes reflect an innovative approach to traditional genres, often incorporating elements of modernist cool alongside vibrant pop art influences. Wood's work in landscapes, as in other genres, is deeply rooted in his personal experiences and the contemporary world, creating a distinctive and instantly recognizable vision.
Wood employs a meticulous process that begins with collecting photographs from various sources, which are then organized, broken down into color blocks, and reassembled to form the basis of his paintings. This method allows him to explore the boundaries between the familiar and the abstract, integrating material from his life in a way that refreshes both his and the viewer's perception of ordinary scenes. His landscapes are not merely representations of physical places but are imbued with emotional depth, humor, and an immersive sense of place, showcasing his ability to transform everyday sights into something extraordinary.
In exhibitions such as "Interiors and Landscapes" at David Kordansky Gallery, Wood's landscapes alongside his interiors demonstrate his advanced technical prowess in composition and color. Works from this exhibition, like "Japanese Garden" and "Scholl Canyon 2," reveal Wood's command of subtle tonal variations to depict spatial depth and natural textures. These pieces often lack human presence but are rich with signs of life, revealing Wood's interest in capturing the essence of spaces and their impact on memory and perception.
Wood's landscapes also touch on themes of memory and experience. For instance, "Romancing the Stone," inspired by the 1984 film, uses lush foliage to create a dense visual field, offering a contemporary take on romantic landscape painting. Similarly, "Scholl Canyon 2" presents a golf course view that incorporates abstract elements reminiscent of Richard Diebenkorn's cityscapes and Matisse's color experiments, further illustrating Wood's ability to blend abstraction with figuration in his depiction of the modern world.
Through his landscape paintings, Jonas Wood emerges as a significant figure in contemporary art, inheriting and innovating upon the legacies of figures like David Hockney, Alex Katz, and Alice Neel. His work transcends simple categorization, occupying a unique space that melds the abstract with the representational and the everyday with the surreal, demonstrating his profound engagement with the act of painting itself (David Kordansky Gallery) (Wikipedia) (David Kordansky Gallery).