13/05/2026
Jo Wilson
Of Line and Edges
On until 30 May 2026
The Cool Arrangement
Jo Wilson’s recent works examine the relationship between geometric abstraction, industrial form, material history, and the reconstruction of reclaimed timber. Formed from Baltic Pine dado boards and Kauri Pine weatherboards salvaged from former heritage homes in Daylesford and South Melbourne, the works retain knots, fissures, nail holes, stains, and structural irregularities. Formed through the sands of time. Rather than concealing or correcting these nuances, Wilson integrates them into the compositional logic, making the material and visual instability central to its abstract structure.
Historically associated with formal reduction, geometric abstraction is here reconfigured through materials that retain evidence of labour, weathering, and architectural wear. Drawing on more than three decades of engagement with printmaking, Wilson employs the visual language of platens, moulds, nozzles, and industrial dies as recurring compositional devices. Repeated contours, geometric divisions, and framing structures establish frameworks associated with alignment, pressure, containment, and mechanical precision. Yet, the geometric order of the works is continually disrupted by the organic nature of the timber itself. Knots interrupt the picture plane, grain patterns drift unpredictably across the surface, and tonal inconsistencies resist the sleekness historically associated with hard-edge abstraction and post-minimal coolness.
Artworks:
1. Platen 6, 2026, wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed kauri pine, 80 cm X 60 cm
2. Platen 1, 2026 wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed baltic pine, 1020 cm X 70 cm
3. Platen 13, 2026 wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed baltic pine, 55 cm X 40
cm
