The main exhibition is a solo presentation of the work of artist and critic Ronald Jones (b. 1952,
United States) and is curated by artist Jason Dodge and Krist Gruijthuijsen, director of the Grazer
Kunstverein. Ronald Jones gained prominence in New York during the mid-1980s by using
disparate formal and minimal languages to explore

history as a medium. Through juxtapositions of historical events, innovations, discoveries, violence and fear, he explores the complex interrelation of events as they define our perception of ourselves and the world often through connecting seemingly unrelated occurrences. His materials include Steven Biko’s
interrogation room, the first artificial heart, collapse boards from a prison gallows, and parts of the
Pan Am flight 103, which was destroyed by a terrorist attack over Lockerbie in Scotland. Jones’
works provoke the perception of minimalism and design by introducing didactic methodologies to
undermine our understanding of autonomy.
An example of Jones’ unique relationship between content and form are his sculptures from 1988
that appropriate Brancusi’s sleek and elegant aesthetic, displaying sublime beauty in the form of
amorphic bronze shapes poised on wooden pedestals. The historic reference is selfconsciously
mobilized in order to rupture high modernist legacy and any lingering effects. Jones’ forms turn out
to be magnified cells related to cancer and the AIDS virus, making us hauntingly aware of the body
by turning the sensual perceiver into a voyeur of death.
The reconsideration and repositioning of the political, social and economical value of ‘the object’
has become rather topical in recent contemporary art production and therefore revisiting some of
Jones’ pioneer work is necessary to continue this debate. This unique exhibition is Jones’ first since
he withdrew as an artist by the mid-90’s and brings together a selection of works from the Lehmann
Collection, Martin Kippenberger Collection and the Artelier Collection in Graz.
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication edited by Jason Dodge, which reflects on most of
Book published on the occasion of the exhibition Ronald Jones: 1987-1992, at the Grazer Kunstverein, 27 September-23 November 2014, curated by Jason Dodge and Krist Gruijthuijsen. Editor: Jason Dodge Contributors: Ronald Jones, Peter Halley, Angie Keefer.