Allen Jones (b. 1937)

Allen Jones studied at Hornsey College of Art and the Royal College of Art in London. He emerged during the early 1960s, when a new generation of British artists was reconsidering the figure through contemporary visual culture. Painting, printmaking and sculpture have remained interconnected parts of his practice. Jones uses emphatic outlines, contrasting colours and poses that suggest performance. His interest in the figure also extends to stage design and the interaction between bodies and surrounding space. The exaggerated conventions of his imagery invite attention to the ways desire and spectacle shape representation. His furniture sculptures, in particular, have made the treatment of women a contested aspect of his reception. The Royal Academy presented a retrospective of his work in 2014. His graphic work provides a distinct setting for his investigation of colour, silhouette and movement, rather than simply reproducing ideas from sculpture.