The Art of Tess Jaray

Examining the geometry of pattern, repetition and colour within her surroundings, British artist Tess Jaray has explored painterly perspective since the 1960s. This comprehensive and richly illustrated volume was produced in celebration of a 2014 exhibition of paintings and prints by Jaray.

Although her work is resolutely abstract, Jaray’s two-dimensional work and public art – both of which celebrate the vitality inherent within archetypal rhythms and patterns – have been informed by her interest in the spaces of Italian Renaissance art and architecture, along with more contemporary influences.

Jaray focuses on producing the illusion of space, using perspective to create a field of spatial paradox that equates to distance and closeness in the mind. In many of her works the area of pattern – whether polygons, waves or rectangles – is contained by a strong, grounding background colour, thereby controlling the movement of the forms.

From Italian architecture and Islamic mosaics to Kazimir Malevich and Lucio Fontana, this volume situates the artist within the tradition of abstract painting and the history of art. Featuring texts by fellow artists, alongside illustrations of a large group of Jaray’s paintings, this first monograph explores her contemporary influence.