The opening of this exhibition can certainly be considered a festive day. For the first time in over 50 years, the works of the famous pop artist Allen Jones are being exhibited again in Berlin.
Sculptures, paintings and watercolours by the artist from the past 40 years will be presented. The exhibition with its retrospective character thus also focuses on the populist spirit of the oeuvre itself. Jones’ works deal with socio-political themes of gender imbalance. At the same time, Jones’ works celebrate a liberal physicality and nudity through their insertion into everyday life.
The highlight of the exhibition is the reissued version of the work Secretary, three disembodied pairs of legs protruding from a wall, completely encased in latex-laced high heels, yet lacking any gender specificity.
The latex finish also gives the pairs of legs a dominant aura that begins to break through clichés created by the titling.
Jones’ works are also recurrently concerned with the relationship of bodies to each other, as well as their fusion on an emotional, sensitive and spiritual level. The focus on the dynamics of the interpersonal leads Jones into the realms of faceted rhythms of the musical and into the excesses of nightlife. Blurred figures, abstracted extremities and a diffuse play of light and colour visualise these dynamics of the sensuality of music in the in-between.