Michael de Bono and Mike Jones – Exhibition 2021
Thursday August 19, 2021
Private View: Sunday 5th September 2021 11am – 4pm
The Exhibition continues until: Saturday 25th September 2021
To view the exhibition click here
“Perspectives” is a joint exhibition between celebrated artists, Michael de Bono and Mike Jones. It showcases two very different artistic and creative approaches to the figurative style of painting.
Both working out of their studios in South Wales, they have exhibited nationally. Some of Jones’ paintings are held in the National Library of Wales and De Bono received a dual prize from the Worshipful Company of Painter-Stainers in 2009 and was winner of the Royal British Academy Trust Award at the Mall Gallery in 2013.
As is very clear they seek inspiration from very different places.
Mike Jones is an artist who has been deeply influenced by the post war Welsh culture of the mining valley community in which he grew up. His vision reflects his distinct and expressive appraisal of the simplicity and strength of images rooted in the social and working life of the people, and their hard living conditions.
Working in a variety of media including pen and ink, crayon and oil, he uses sharp line and form to capture and express the spirit of men and women with freshness, passion and immediacy.
You feel that here is a historic quality to the work; the characters seem recognisable, and they embody the spirit of so many communities all over the UK. Except that you know in your heart that these places have changed and continue to do so; nothing lasts forever.
Michael de Bono is a self-taught artist; his ability developed through the study of drawing, technique and a love of Old Master painting – Leonardo, Van Eyke, Hans Memling, Vermeer and Caravaggio are of particular significance. Characterised by his exquisitely rendered oil paintings with a specific emphasis on light effects, Michael’s interest in the elegance and primacy of the natural world finds expression within his figurative and still life work, the intimacy of which invites us to reflect freely upon their narrative context.
It is a pleasure to see his still life compositions blended with his figurative pieces in this exhibition. Their quality, intensity and richness of colour make them something to behold. He adds “Art is made flesh. All that I have done is to attempt in a humble way to paint well and to do a small amount of justice, without fuss and fanfare, to the past greats that inspire me”.
