Bovitch In Italy

John Paul Jones

John Paul Jones weaned himself away from the geometry of his early prints because he felt that the spare imagery was wrung dry. He thus moved toward the attenuated, magical figurative work that was to become a life long focus.

Between November 5, 1962 and January 28 of 1963 Jones worked at the Tamarind Institute in Los Angeles, where he produced a series of 29 black and white abstracted lithographs, including "Bovitch in Italy".

A monumental figure emerges from the background and dominates the composition. The figure is fragmented, rubbed away and then defined, the background remaining a series of frenetic white scratches; the entire composition vibrates with intensity and emotion.