Following a successful opening at Jealous East in 2021, Jealous North is set to showcase the wonderful works of Jane Dinmore this May. A solo exhibition sure to flood the space with an explosion of colour, absurdity and buckets of fun with new artworks made specifically for the second instalment at Crouch End.

This solo exhibition will present works full of freedom, in which non-representational abstraction mixes with comedic tendencies, leaving a trace of recognisable shapes in joyous, surreal landscapes. Nonsense and the absurd are in the spotlight of Dinmore’s original works. Colourful shapes take the lead in creating fun and energetic compositions, reminiscent of nights out, music, and freedom. They exude celebration and silliness. Hands, shoulders, and multiple legs appear in entanglements that, far from attempting to be sexual, give the viewer more to wonder about and foster intrigue.

Dinmore’s depictions are playful and confront the viewer to question whether silliness can be a serious pursuit. The works highlight the joys of life through dialogues of vivid colour and shape which transform the absurd into the sublime. The comical titles of each piece favour humour, whilst simultaneously raising feelings of intrigue.

Thick swipes of acrylic paint and fluro ink squiggles lead the focus of Dinmore’s work, taking inspiration from; 20th Century contemporary abstract sculpture, doodling, bio formic shapes, standing stones, and time as an object. Retro illustrations from the 60s and 70s, poetry, natural forms, prudery, misunderstandings and innuendos form her work, showing a particular nostalgia for mid-century line and colour. It can indeed be said that Dinmore’s work transmits a camp feeling of exaggeration and ironic value, a metaphor for life as theatre. This showcase of new artworks will bring together a plethora of colours and shapes to create animated landscapes and obscure narratives full of energy, momentum, concealment and possibility.

Jane Dinmore uses the freedom of non-representational abstraction in her work. Awkward clashes of witty amorphous lines and solid anthropomorphic forms create balanced compositions with a Wabi-Sabi sensibility. The work is an endless dialogue of vivid colour, shape, consciousness and the absurd transformed with a subliminal sense of omnipotence. Nonsense and familiarities are turned into landscapes, which have an energy and sense of optimism. Comical titles allude to mischief. Recognisable shapes like mouse holes and the characterful re-arrangement of standing stones are a favourite for Dinmore. These works are imagined places with the trace of human presence: the objects we leave behind or hide behind.

Paintings and drawings are created by layering buoyant forms, spontaneous gestures and heavy definite marks, to transform the incidental and obscure. The works visual language has cartoon notions, particularly evident in the abstract non-existent sculpture drawings.

Within the compositions, the equality of shapes from the ephemeral to the ancient is gathered together with Dinmore’s nostalgia for mid-century line and colour. Assembling fragments of memory, the aftermath of parties, remodelled truths, and fleeting moments become playful mythologies. The result; humorous and eloquent lawless abstraction of fragmented narrative and the metaphysical.

Jane Dinmore studied Fine Art Painting at the Hertfordshire University, graduating in 1995. She continued her studies at Goldsmiths, London, graduating in 1999. Dinmore moved her London studio to the East Sussex coast in 2006. Dinmore has recently collaborated with artist Jack Jelfs; creating spontaneous drawings to his sound pieces.