Emerging in the British Pop Art scene in the mid twentieth century was artist Allen Jones who came to prominence throughout Europe and the United States during the 1960s. Primarily known as a painter, in 1969 Jones produced a series of life-size and hyper-realistic sculptures entitled Hatstand, Table & Chairs. These sculptures took the form of furniture with erotic overtones, using the female form and positioning the figures into a table, chair and pieces of freestanding furniture. Jones questioned the nature of sculpture by presenting it as a functional object.
The work came out of a preoccupation and a belief that it was possible to make a statement about the figure in the context of the artistic avant garde of the 60s.
- Allen Jones
With an interest in traditional male and female power dynamics, Jones has always referenced the female form, from Kate Moss in a gold breastplate to his jewellery collaboration with Louisa Guinness Gallery in 2017. The female form emerged in the shape of silver miniature cutouts as earrings, necklaces and brooches as part of his Bodyline series (pictured above) in various interpretations (sometimes gilt with 18k gold) which can both be worn but also displayed like the sculptures they are.