Paintings and monotypes by Laura Jones convey a focus on the complex relationships between humanity and nature in their composition, subject matter and in the looseness and lack of resolution in the paint itself. The vulnerabilities of the environment are expressed alongside her own domestic interiors, exposing the private (and human) in parallel with the natural world. They unfurl their narratives, opening like a flower to expose precious sensitivities, also expressed in the space that invites us between the brushstrokes.

‘I have always turned my concern for the environment into art. My recent work weaves more private moments into the tapestry of the natural world. I am interested in capturing moments of vulnerability and wonder. This gives context and heart to the ineffable, expressing the rawness of how it feels to be alive right now. I try to conjure familiar emotions and describe them with paint in a new way. Hopefully, I can remind people that fragility and optimism can coexist.’

Jones grew up in nature in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. She studied Japanese and art history, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (2003). She completed a Masters of Art (printmaking) from the College of Fine Arts, University of NSW (2006).

In 2024, Jones won the Archibald Prize with a portrait of author Tim Winton. She has previously been selected as a finalist in the Sulman Prize (2024), the Archibald Prize (2023, 2022, 2019) and Wynne Prize (2021), and won the People’s Choice Award at the Paddington Art Prize (2021). In 2023 she was awarded the Nancy Fairfax Artist in Residence at Tweed Regional Gallery. Her work has been acquired for the Artbank Collection and national and international private collections.

Her work has been exhibited in public and private galleries since 2011, and she has undertaken residencies at the Great Barrier Reef, Lizard Island, Heron Island, New York, Japan, and Antarctica.