Our featured display of the work of Jonathan Gibbs continues at The Rowley Gallery. There is a good selection of his wood engravings, many of which have been used as illustrations and book jacket designs, notably by Faber & Faber and the Folio Society. An often recurring formal theme is the playful combination of ripples and grids, like a game of snakes and ladders.
This emblematic image, Tree At My Window contrasts the rigid geometry of the window frame with the sinuous geometry of tree branches; it suggests a vine on a trellis, even Mondrian’s Pier and Ocean.
The contained zig zag energy of Herringbone II draws from a familiar vocabulary of frames and meshes, ropes and spirals, vernacular abstract devices often found at the seaside and in the wood.
As well as wood engravings there are also a few examples of Jonathan’s coloured drawings.
His patterned bookbinding paper, produced by the Judd Street Gallery, features on the backs of our handmade photo frames.
Please also see the earlier post – Jonathan Gibbs @ The Rowley Gallery.
I’ve been admiring these gorgeous printed papers for some time now and your post has really made me appreciate them even more! Thanks!
I was actually looking to use them (and maybe some from Curwen) for some potential jewellery designs, what did you use to adhere them to your frames? I was thinking of some permanent spray adhesive might do the trick. They’ll obviously need to varnished for protection of course, something with a matt finish.
Thanks Ann. The paper’s fixed with spray adhesive but no varnish. Lots more papers available from Falkiners.