NO DESTRUCTION!
Adrian De Vries and Xavier Jones
22.11.24 - 24.11.24
Painting creates tension: tension between a composition and its edges, between the image and its audience, between the desires of the artist and the desires of their materials. These paintings seek to make these tensions explicit. The underpainting or stretcher bars emerge from the background to disrupt images. Gestures become illegible as they sink into a haze of pentimento. By intensifying these elements of painting, the artists do not seek to destroy but instead find resonance with these non-human or extra-human elements.
Adrian De Vries (he/him) is an Australian artist with a non-objective painting practice. He approaches the medium playfully to produce experimental paintings and installations. Adrian graduated from RMIT University in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Distinction) in Expanded Studio Practice. In 2018 he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class Honours) at RMIT University. Since 2016, he’s regularly participated in various group and solo exhibitions in Melbourne, Canberra & Sydney. He’s currently based in Melbourne.
Xavier Jones (they/them) is an Australian painter and writer. Their practice is primarily concerned with languages of opulence and the loss of legibility in the dying medium of painting. Xavier has been educated in both fine arts at RMIT University and Russian Studies at University of Melbourne. They are currently based in Melbourne but have previously exhibited and worked in Canberra and Montreal.