On December 15th, 2023, Grove Gallery will be proud to show printmaker David Jones’s solo exhibition, “Shadow Play.'' Over the years, David has documented his walks, drives, and journeys, recording moments of shadow and light, the interplay of objects and space, of images seen in the periphery and of the passing of time. Those are his inclinations for capturing fleeting occurrences.

He uses this documentary material to explore the relationships images have with abstraction, memory and random chance operations. Using the computer software MAX/MSP, he compiles layers of images that build up texture, density of movement, and the interplay of forms through his homemade multichannel projector. He inputs the images and programs the software to manipulate the color, density, tone, contrast, and the speed of transition between layers. The device processes and outputs randomly projected images which merge and dissolve as they transition.

The system has the added ability to create and record videos and snapshots of output. The images in the exhibition "Shadow Play" are generated by this process. In the final step, David produces the captured image as an archival inkjet print, or as a hand printed and hand colored 4-color monoprint.

On display in the gallery window, David has installed a monitor showing the process described above playing recorded images which in some cases are the source for the prints in the exhibit.

David Jones was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. At a young age he became intrigued with photography, watching his grandmother take photographs at family gatherings and holiday events. He moved to the Midwest to pursue studies in photography and printmaking. He attended the Center for Photographic Studies, Louisville; Banff Centre for the Arts; and the Vancouver School of Art, and received his BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. He moved to Chicago to work under Jack Lemon at Landfall Press, after which he co-founded (with his spouse Marilyn Propp) Anchor Graphics, Chicago, where he was Director and Master Printer from 1990 to 2015. He received his MA in Interdisciplinary Art from the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College Chicago, and has taught printmaking at the Chicago Art Institute, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and Columbia College Chicago. He has served on the Advisory Board of the Highpoint Center for Printmaking, Minneapolis and as President of Southern Graphics Council International, and was Interim Director at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, NYC.

His visiting artist positions include the University of Iowa; Guanlan Printmaking Base, China; U. of Veracruz, Mexico; P.R.I.N.T., Texas; U. of Montana, Bozeman; Cranbrook Academy, MI; Savannah College of Art and Design, GA; and many others throughout the U.S. Among his residencies are Cill Rialaig, Ireland; Presse Papier, Canada; and Grafikas Kamera, Latvia. Solo and two-person exhibits include Columbia University, NYC; Universidad Veracruzana, Mexico; Louisiana Tech University; mn Gallery, Chicago; Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL; State College of Florida, Bradenton: Kenosha Public Museum, WI; Anderson Art Center, WI, and others throughout the U.S. After Anchor Graphics Chicago closed, he and Marilyn co-founded Anchor Press, Paper & Print in Milwaukee. He is passionate about collaborating with other makers and educating young people and adults about creative problem solving through printmaking.

OPENING: Friday, December 15, 2023, 5-9 PM
FEATURED: GALLERY NIGHT AND DAY
Friday, January 19, 2024, 5-9 PM
Saturday, January 20, 2024, 12-5 PM
CLOSING: January 27, 2024, 12-4 PM

For more information: https://www.proppjonesstudio.com/
On Instagram: @proppjonesstudio, @gallerygrove
Gallery Hours: Open Saturdays, 12-4 PM