Jonas Wood's Still Lifes series showcases his unique approach to capturing everyday objects and scenes with a playful and inviting twist. His still lifes, often featuring intricately patterned ceramic vessels created by his wife, ceramicist Shio Kusaka, display a blend of vibrant colors and warped perspectives, echoing the aesthetic influences of '90s graphic design and the angled interiors reminiscent of Henri Matisse's paintings (Artsy).
Wood's work encompasses a variety of themes, including portraits, landscapes, and interiors, all unified by his distinct, colorful style and exploration of form. Despite their apparent flatness, his still lifes and other compositions exhibit a fascination with volume and space, achieved not through traditional shading but through the strategic use of color (amadeus). This method allows Wood to manipulate viewers' perceptions, creating images that oscillate between reality and abstraction. His ability to transform personal experiences and surroundings into art imbues his still lifes with a sense of intimacy and familiarity, making everyday objects appear both extraordinary and alluring.
Notably, Wood's artistic practice is deeply collaborative, with motifs and themes migrating between his paintings and Kusaka's ceramics. This synergy between the couple enriches Wood's still lifes, incorporating elements of sports, domestic life, and their shared experiences (Gagosian). Exhibitions like Hammer Projects at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and Still Life with Two Owls at MOCA have provided platforms for Wood to explore and expand his visual diary, using traditional genres to convey a deeply personal narrative through his reinterpretation of still life (Hammer Museum) (Home).
Through his still lifes and broader body of work, Jonas Wood invites viewers into a vividly colored world where the boundaries between the everyday and the extraordinary are blurred. His work challenges traditional perceptions of still life painting, offering fresh perspectives on familiar subjects and emphasizing the power of color and form to transform the mundane into the magnificent.