Jake Grewal (b. 1994, London) lives and works in London. He first exhibited with Thomas Dane Gallery in 2022 with his solo show, Now I Know You I Am Older, curated by Andrew Bonacina. A forthcoming exhibition, Some days I feel more alive, will be held at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, from 28 October 2023–20 April 2024.
In Grewal’s paintings and drawings, figures merge with their surrounding landscapes in a dream-like quality unmoored from time and space. Often nude and based on the artist’s own image, the figures are situated against dramatic sunsets or gazing into verdant green pools. Time and its transition play a central role with the same figure often repeated within a scene. Narratives are left open-ended and the viewer is encouraged to project their own conclusions onto the dramatic tableaus. Informed by photographs that Grewal has taken of himself outdoors, there is an underlying desire for ambiguity and abstraction within his figures.
Drawing is central to Grewal’s practice and it is where an idea for a new work largely begins. Using predominantly charcoal, Grewal insistently repeats figures and scenes, often in different mediums and scales until his narratives are realised. Landscape and figure merge together and become one. Figures and trees dissolve and reappear on a journey together, sometimes cohabitating, sometimes being consumed, but always investigating the artist’s fascination with the passing of time.
Selected exhibitions include: Now I Know You I Am Older, Thomas Dane Gallery, London, England (2022); Interior, Michael Werner Gallery, London, England (2022); Shifting Waters, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India (2022); Drawing Attention: Emerging British Artists, The British Museum, London, England (2022); Dissolving Realms, curated by Katy Hessel, Kasmin Gallery, New York NY (2022); Drawing Room Biennial 2021, Drawing Room, London, England (2021); On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India (2021); Deity, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (2020); Everyday is Sunday, UTA Artists Space, California CA (2020); No Time Like The Present, Public Gallery, London, England (2020); The Drawing Year, Open Studios 2019, London, England (2019); The Drawing Year End of Year Exhibition 2019, Royal Drawing School, London, England (2019); Best of the Drawing Year 18-19, Christie’s, London, England (2019); Full English, Platform Southwark, London, England (2019).
