Sacred and ordinary

17 Goulston Street London E1 7TP

Opening Saturday 19 September, 12–5 pm

In the works of Jason Thompson, creation is not a linear process; instead, it stems from a process akin to evolution. Beginning as a small panel of wood, pre-worn and shaped by weather or use, the artist's works grow outwards the way a branch reaches from a trunk, simply away from where it started with no final destination in mind. Shapes are moulded by the found wood they are made on, and marks are informed by lines already made. Rather than beginning with a subject to be represented, unplanned marks are made, then copied, echoed, buried under further marks and copied again. Some survive this process, while others are painted over and lost. Over time, the image accumulates from what survives its own remaking, worn into being through the process.

Pictured: Jason Thompson, Babble, 2026, 58 x 61.5 cm.

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Jason Thompson (b. 1970, Liverpool, UK) lives and works in Liverpool. Working primarily across painting, drawing and assemblage, Thompson uses found wood and other materials to construct works through processes of accumulation and transformation. His compositions develop through repetition and variation, with marks copied, altered, obscured or allowed to survive in a process the artist likens to natural evolution. Thompson received his BA (1993) and MA (1995) in Fine Art (Painting) from Chelsea College of Art and Design, London.

Selected exhibitions include Paths, clinic, Tokyo and MtK Contemporary Art, Kyoto (2026); More On More, (PLACE) by method, Tokyo and Kousagisha Gallery, Kyoto (2025); One Between Two, with Penny Davenport, OTP Copenhagen, Copenhagen (2025); Secret Structure, WSJ Gallery, London (2023); Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2022–23); I_AM_JASON_THOMPSON, Wilson Stephens and Jones, London (2018); Small is Beautiful, Flowers Gallery, London (2018); Night in the Museum: Ryan Gander Curates the Arts Council Collection, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and touring (2016–17); and the John Moores Painting Prize, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool (2010).

His work is held in public collections including the Arts Council Collection, UK; Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool; and the Office of Public Works, Ireland.