Jake Grewal (b. 1994, London) lives and works in London.
In Grewal’s paintings and drawings, figures merge with their surrounding landscapes, seemingly unmoored from time and space. Often nude and based on the artist’s own image, the figures are situated against dramatic sunsets or gazing into verdant green pools. Time and its transition play a central role with the same figure often repeated within a scene. Narratives are left open-ended and the viewer is encouraged to project their own conclusions onto the dramatic tableaus. Informed by photographs that Grewal has taken of himself outdoors, there is an underlying desire for ambiguity and abstraction within his figures.
Drawing is central to Grewal’s practice and it usually the departure point from which his larger paintings emerge. Using predominantly charcoal, Grewal insistently repeats figures and scenes, often in different mediums and scales until his narratives are realised. Landscape and figure merge together and become one. Figures and trees dissolve and reappear on a journey together, sometimes cohabitating, sometimes being consumed, but always investigating the artist’s fascination with the passing of time.
Solo exhibitions include: Some days I feel more alive, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, England (2023); Now I Know You I Am Older, Thomas Dane Gallery, London, England (2022). Group exhibitions include:Voyage, Morena di Luna, Hove, England (2024); Drawing Biennial 2024, Drawing Room, London, England (2024); Interior, Michael Werner Gallery, London, England (2022); Shifting Waters, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India (2022); Drawing Attention: Emerging British Artists, The British Museum, London, England (2022); Dissolving Realms, curated by Katy Hessel, Kasmin Gallery, New York NY (2022); Drawing Biennial 2021, Drawing Room, London, England (2021); On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, Jhaveri Contemporary, Mumbai, India (2021); Deity, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland (2020); Everyday is Sunday, UTA Artists Space, Los Angeles CA (2020); No Time Like The Present, Public Gallery, London, England (2020).