Jonas Wood

Gagosian Gallery, Hong Kong
Acquired from the above by the present owner

This work is in excellent condition overall. Under close inspection there is some very light wear and rubbing at the bottom left turning edge. Under Ultraviolet light inspection a few areas fluoresce brightly but are not the result of restoration. Under ultraviolet light inspection there is no evidence of restoration. Unframed.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Oscillating between representational still-life and abstraction, Pink Plant Two thrives on the nuanced moments where representation disintegrates into sheer pattern of form and color. Powerfully evocative of Henri Matisse’s boldly colored abstract cut-outs such as Composition, Black and Red from 1947, Pink Plant Two by Jonas Wood is a commanding testament to the timeless visual intrigue of overlapping textures, electric tones, and flattened distortions of space. The influence of Cubism within Wood’s oeuvre is unmistakable, perhaps most present in Wood’s technique of taking photographs of his subjects from various angles and perspectives, and then composing each painting as a synthesized perception of space and time. The final result, therefore, is a work that throbs with the vibrant rhythm and harmony of David Smith’s eccentric sculptures or Alexander Calder’s whimsical mobiles. As Roberta Smith asserts, "More than ever his works negotiate an uneasy truce among the abstract, the representational, the photographic. They achieve this with a dour yet lavish palette, tactile but impeccably workmanlike surfaces and a subtly perturbed sense of space in which seemingly flattened planes and shapes undergo shifts in tone and angle that continually declare their constructed, considered, carefully wrought artifice…Mr. Wood paints the artist’s life that happens to be his own. In its broadest outlines the subject has not changed all that much from, say, Vuillard and Matisse to Alex Katz and David Hockney” (Roberta Smith, "Jonas Wood," The New York Times, 18 March 2011, p. C31).