The six larger pieces in the show are rendered on linen and feature her signature motif of teeth, often taking up large swaths of the canvas with cartoonish shapes and proportions. Jones’ use of repetitive imagery serves as a way to build her landscape of associative meaning. The cumulative process of examining new interpretations of the same subject creates dynamic relationships across her work. The six smaller paintings are thickly layered, calling back to the theme of the exhibition’s title. All 12 paintings are also entitled “!!!!!”, a gesture towards the various interpretations of symbols and what their respective meanings seek to describe— similar to the opacity of a painting’s layers.
“Having observed Rachel’s practice evolve over the past four years, it is an honor to collaborate with her to debut this distinctive body of work at MoAD,” says exhibition curator Erin Jenoa Gilbert, “Rachel’s practice forcefully contends with the history of painting, transcending categories as her work oscillates between abstraction and figuration.” Jones’ use of color and shape playfully examines the inner states of being, from angst and discord to humor and joy, illuminating the wide range of emotions that can occur simultaneously.