Jonas Wood
MATISSE POT #4, 2019
18-colour screen print on Rising Museum Board
34 x 32 inches
23/50
Available at Surovek Gallery
Jonas Wood (b. 1977) has had another banner year. The California-based artist, who is obsessed with basketball, designed this season’s uniforms for the LA Clippers.
His work was shown, alongside those of Henri Matisse at the Nahmad Contemporary in Gstaad in Switzerland. A retrospective of his drawings from 2003 to 2023 were shown at the Karma Gallery in New York and are currently on exhibit at the Karma Gallery in Los Angeles.
A 2012 oil and acrylic painting, Calais Drive 2, was among the top ten works sold at Sotheby’s Ultra-Contemporary auction in August. The Ultra-Contemporary category is reserved for artists born after 1974. Calais Drive 2 sold for $1,829,913.
Mark Grotjahn (b. 1968) has had a good year, as well. He is a backcountry ski enthusiast and has created a limited-run ski design in collaboration with DPS Skis, a U.S.-based ski manufacturer.
Grotjahn lives and works in California. There is good skiing in California, but Grotjahn was introduced to the sport in Colorado.
“I like being immersed deep into nature where I feel small and like a little tourist, just a little guy on a big, big globe.” he said. “Nature doesn’t care about me. Nature doesn’t not care about me. I just get to be a little visitor. I love the feeling of contemplation and quiet when I tour ski. I feel so in the moment that everything else disappears and I feel invisible. I think any skier or anybody who takes it seriously knows what it’s like to disappear into their sport. And I have to say, this feeling exists in making paintings too. It just happens more consistently on the mountain.”
At the beginning of the year an exhibit of his paintings, inspired by his adventures in skiing, were shown at the Gagosian Gallery in London and then at the gallery in Gstaad, Switzerland. According to artist and writer Kenny Schachter, Grotjahn showed up early on opening night of his Backcountry exhibit in Gstaad, grabbed some food and left before the invited dinner guests arrived.
Grotjahn currently has an exhibit at the Karma Gallery in New York. Skulls 2016–2023 will be on display through December 20, 2023.
References:
Amadour. Artist Jonas Wood Discusses His Latest Exhibition Focused on His Drawing Practice, ‘The Backbone of His Studio Practice’. ArtNews. August 7, 2023.
ArtNet News. The Best-Seller List: See the Top Ten Lots Sold in Every Major Category. August 16, 2023.
SnowBrains. DPS Skis Launch Limited Artist Collab in Aspen with Mark Grotjahn. February 15, 2023.
Kenny Schachter. Kenny Schachter Hits Frieze L.A.—or Does He?—and Digs Up Scoops on Peter Doig’s New Mastermind, Mark Grotjahn’s Dine-and-Dash, and Bad Art-Market Behavior Galore. Artnet News. February 22, 2023.
