Mathew Jones (born 1961) is an Australian-born contemporary artist who also took British citizenship in 2005. Since the late ‘80s his work has dealt with gay identity and queer theory. He has held over 20 solo exhibitions in Australia, New York and Canada and been included in over 45 group exhibitions throughout all Australian states and in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Sao Paulo, Caracas, Copenhagen, New York and London. He was artist-in-residence at PS1 Museum, New York 1995/6, and the Acme Studios in London in 2001. He received an Australia Council Fellowship in 2003. A survey of his photographic work 1989 to 1994 was held at the Museum of Australian Photography in 2016. Jones’ earliest work such as ‘''Silence = Death''’ (200 Gertude St, Melbourne; Artspace, Sydney; and the

Institute of Modern Art The Institute of Modern Art (IMA) is a public art gallery located in the Judith Wright Arts Centre in the Brisbane inner-city suburb of Fortitude Valley, which features contemporary artworks and showcases emerging artists in a series of group and ...

, Brisbane throughout 1991) embraced notions of silence and refusal as political strategies in ways that pre-empt the interests of many younger queer artists today. ‘''I Feel Like Chicken Tonight''’ ( Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne; Canberra Contemporary Art Space and Artspace, Sydney throughout 1995) highlighted the expulsion of NAMBLA from ILGA during the mainstreaming of gay politics. ‘''Poof''!’ (

Australian Centre for Contemporary Art The Australian Centre For Contemporary Art (ACCA) is a contemporary art gallery in Melbourne, Australia. The gallery is located on Sturt Street in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, in the inner suburb of Southbank, Victoria, Southbank. Designed by W ...

, Melbourne and the

Art Gallery of NSW The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

, 1993 and 1995) exploded the idea of a stable gay identity whilst ‘''The New York Daily News …''’ (pictured) pined for a time before Stonewall. As well as several public art projects, other projects of note include ‘''A Place I’ve Never Seen''’ (

Australian Centre for Photography The Australian Centre for Photography (ACP) was a not-for-profit photography gallery in Darlinghurst, Sydney, Australia that was established in 1973 and which also provided part-time courses and community programs. One of the longest running c ...

, Sydney; Museu de Arte Moderna, São Paulo; Optica, Toronto; and Ace Art, Winnipeg), and, ‘''Mathew Jones / Simon Starling''’ (

Museum of Contemporary Art Museum of Contemporary Art (often abbreviated to MCA, MoCA or MOCA) may refer to: Africa * Museum of Contemporary Art (Tangier), Morocco, officially le Galerie d'Art Contemporain Mohamed Drissi Asia East Asia * Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai ...

, Sydney 2002). The artist has seen significant critical attention in the 1990s, and his work is in the collections of

(Sydney),

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most import ...

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Galle ...

. Whilst work of the ‘90s critiqued gay identity politics he is wary now of a growing hegemony within queer politics and recent works look backwards at creative ways we can forge gay links with artists of the past. This represents a ''volte-face'' from exhibitions such as RIOT''' 1995.

References

External links

Mathew Jones website
mathewjones.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Mathew 1961 births Living people Australian contemporary artists Australian LGBTQ artists