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The Courtauld Gallery today unveiled two new site-specific commissions by acclaimed artist Rachel Jones. The new paintings, titled STRUCK, are on view in The John Browne Entrance Hall and the adjacent Ticketing Hall.
The large-scale, brightly coloured abstract works were created especially for The Courtauld Gallery. They are intended to playfully disrupt the formality of the grand 18th century neoclassical building, based in the North Wing of Somerset House in central London, and to open conversations with paintings in the Gallery’s collection.
Rachel Jones (b. 1991) is celebrated for her monumental canvases and bold use of colour. Working in pastel and oil stick, she creates large-scale abstract compositions in a kaleidoscope of rich colours and gestural marks. Her paintings often feature motifs of mouths interwoven in a landscape of natural forms, representing points of entry and connection between the body and the outside world.
For the new works at The Courtauld Gallery, Jones has explored the influence of cartoons on her visual world. The work in The John Browne Entrance Hall features a cartoonish, crooked mouth which functions like a portal to a surging inner landscape, inspired by a still from Tom and Jerry (1947). Abstract shapes are combined, reminiscent of natural forms such as clouds and a sunset. The work reflects Jones’ longstanding engagement with the contrasting colours and prominent marks of the landscape paintings of Vincent van Gogh, whose Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889) is housed in the LVMH Great Room at The Courtauld Gallery.
In the Ticketing Hall, an imaginary landscape is dominated by sweeping forms, inspired by the bold colours, graphic quality, and representation of movement in a still from the cartoon Toby Tortoise Returns (1936). The work reflects Jones’ interest in the landscape paintings of Post-Impressionist painters such as Paul Gauguin, also in The Courtauld’s collection, and his adoption of low-angle views, vertical layouts, and flat planes of colour.
Both works are created in oil pastels and sticks, which enable Jones to develop her work intuitively by layering and blending colours directly onto linen, with further marks and added over competing passages of distinctively rich and nuanced colours and textures.
Rachel Jones was born and lives in London. She studied Fine Art at The Glasgow School of Art and the Royal Academy Schools. Recent solo exhibitions include Rachel Jones, !!!!!, Museum of African Diaspora, San Francisco, US (2024), Rachel Jones, a shorn root, Long Museum, Shanghai, China (2023), and Rachel Jones, say cheeeeese, Chisenhale Gallery, London, UK (2022). A solo exhibition of Jones’ work, Gated Canyons, is open until 19 October 2025 at Dulwich Picture Gallery.
STRUCK is the first in a series of regular commissions and collaborations with artists that will be displayed in The John Browne Entrance Hall and Ticketing Hall.at The Courtauld Gallery.
Elena Crippa, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art: Exhibitions and Projects at The Courtauld, said: “Rachel Jones’s newly commissioned works entirely transform the experience of entering the Gallery. Like a bold explosion and a gust of wind, they take over the building and engage with the collection playfully and daringly. Alongside Peter Doig and Claudette Johnson’s recent exhibitions, this commission reflects artists’ love of The Courtauld and its stunning collection, and our growing commitment to working with artists, and sharing their vision and insight.”
To coincide with the unveiling of the commissions, Rachel Jones has chosen Vincent van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889) as the springboard for a new creative project led by The Courtauld Learning team. Students from across the UK, local community members, and families have participated in free workshops, projects and events exploring Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear to create their own artworks exploring ‘sense of self’. A diverse range of creative responses, from sound and moving image, installation, poetry and spoken word, to sculpture, textiles, collage, painting and photography will be featured in the Sense of Self display in the Project Space at The Courtauld Gallery from 22 October 2025 – 15 February 2026.
The Courtauld has also recently announced its 2026 exhibitions programme which includes the first solo exhibition in Europe of the celebrated New York-based painter Salman Toor,
Courtauld Commission 2025: Rachel Jones
The Courtauld Gallery – The John Browne Entrance Hall and Ticketing Hall (free display)
From 25 September 2025
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NOTES TO EDITORS
About The Courtauld
The Courtauld works to advance how we see and understand the visual arts, as an internationally renowned centre for the teaching and research of art history and a major public gallery. Founded by collectors and philanthropists in 1932, the organisation has been at the forefront of the study of art ever since through advanced research and conservation practice, innovative teaching, the renowned collection and inspiring exhibitions of its gallery, and engaging and accessible activities, education and events.
The Courtauld cares for one of the greatest art collections in the UK, presenting these works to the public at The Courtauld Gallery in central London, as well as through loans and partnerships. The Gallery is most famous for its iconic Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces – such as Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. It showcases these alongside an internationally renowned collection of works from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance through to the present day.
Academically, The Courtauld faculty is the largest community of art historians and conservators in the UK, teaching and carrying out research on subjects from creativity in late Antiquity to contemporary digital artforms – with an increasingly global focus. An independent college of the University of London, The Courtauld offers a range of degree programmes from BA to PhD in the History of Art, curating and the conservation of easel and wall paintings. Its alumni are leaders and innovators in the arts, culture and business worlds, helping to shape the global agenda for the arts and creative industries.
Founded on the belief that everyone should have the opportunity to engage with art, The Courtauld works to increase understanding of the role played by art throughout history, in all societies and across all geographies – as well as being a champion for the importance of art in the present day. This could be through exhibitions offering a chance to look closely at world- famous works; events bringing art history research to new audiences; accessible and expert short courses; digital engagement, innovative school, family and community programmes; or taking a formal qualification. The Courtauld’s ambition is to transform access to art history education by extending the horizons of what this is and ensuring as many people as possible can benefit from the tools to better understand the visual world around us.
The Courtauld is an exempt charity and relies on generous philanthropic support to achieve its mission of advancing the understanding of the visual arts of the past and present across the world through advanced research, innovative teaching, inspiring exhibitions, programmes and collections. The collection cared for by The Courtauld Gallery is owned by the Samuel Courtauld Trust.
