Blockprojects Art Gallery

JO WILSON Of Line and Edges May 06–May 30, 2026 Installation images by @markwilsonmedia

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 📸 : @@mark_ashkanasy

...continue Wilson’s use of finely milled timber surfaces and architectural framing devices positions the work within a unique dialogue surrounding post-minimal and neo-conceptual abstraction. The layered timber substrates and spatial divisions recall aspects of Peter Halley’s constructed paintings, particularly in their deployment of geometry as both spatial system and organisational logic. Unlike Halley’s sealed and semiotic surfaces, Wilson’s compositions resist formal closure through the persistent visibility of material irregularity and historic wear. Colour similarly operates structurally rather than illusionistically. Restrained chromatic interventions, including hand-painted pins and concentrated colour accents, interrupt the flatness of the surface while evoking familiar points of contact associated with everyday objects such as door handles, fixtures, and hooks. These elements function less as devices of pictorial depth than as markers of orientation and tactile recognition. Questions of objecthood and display are equally central to the works. Their status as wall-based constructions invites comparison with Haim Steinbach’s shelf works and Donald Judd’s wall constructions, in which acts of framing and presentation operate in a system of cool arrangements. Whereas Steinbach’s practice frequently engages systems of commodity circulation and display, Judd’s wall constructions retain the spectre of industrial intervention and design. Wilson’s wall works remain tied to the physical history and residual labour embedded within reclaimed timber. The material is a contradiction to the idea of the cold, ever-expanding plane. Artwork: 1. Platen 10, 2026 wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed baltic pine, 55 cm X 40 2. Platen 11, 2026 wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed baltic pine, 55 cm X 40 3. Platen 12, 2026 wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed baltic pine, 55 cm X 40 📸 : @mark_ashkanasy

....continue The assembled and modular logic of the works recalls aspects of John Nixon’s provisional abstractions and constructed surfaces, while their emphasis on material presence shares affinities with Kishio Suga and the wider Mono-ha movement, in which materials resist complete formal acceptances and retain a degree of ephemeral. Wilson’s works hover between organic form, design object and fine art. The vertical sculptural works extend the history of the totem-like object. Their stacked cylindrical forms suggest machine components, architectural fragments, or ritual structures, yet resist fixed categorisation. Precision cut grooves and repeated profiles establish serial rhythms repeatedly complicated by variations in density, grain, and surface irregularity. Across the exhibition, abstraction emerges not as a withdrawal from material reality but as a means of registering the tension between time, geometric order, human systems, and the foreboding temporal conditions embedded within matter itself. JK 2026 Artwork: 1. Platen 5, 2026, wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed kauri pine, 80 cm X 60 2. Platen 4, 2026, wood wash, acrylic, pigment on reclaimed kauri pine, 80 cm X 60 📸 : @mark_ashkanasy

Jo Wilson Opening reception Of Line and Edges On until 30 May 2026

JO WILSON Of Line and Edges 06.05 - 30.05.26 OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY 09 MAY 2026 TIME: 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Jo Wilson creates sculptural works informed by the visual language of industrial manufacturing and printmaking. Working with reclaimed timber, bronze, aluminium, and hand-finished surfaces, she develops pared-back geometric compositions that balance formal precision with material sensitivity. Drawing on the structures and contours of mechanical tooling, Wilson’s works retain the physical presence of their making, allowing grain, surface variation, and subtle irregularities to remain visible within the composition. Please join us for the opening reception of Jo Wilson’s new exhibition. Exhibition Dates: 06.05.26 - 30.05.26 Opening Reception 09.05.26 3 PM - 5 Pm

Artist Talk / @paulnewcombe_artist Paul Newcombe will be at Blockprojects on 2 May 2026 to continue discussing the process and mystery of abstraction. Art students and young collectors are welcome to join constructive discourse with the artist. Date: Saturday 2 May 2026 Time: 4 pm - 5 pm

Blockprojects presents Figure in a Landscape (1992) by Peter Booth. Executed in pastel on paper, the work situates a central figure within an indeterminate ground. A white-grey form emerges against passages of black, pink, and red, where colour functions as structure rather than description. Compact in scale, the work retains a concentrated physicality. The surface registers shifts in pressure and tempo, allowing the image to remain open and unresolved. __ Provence Rex Irwin Gallery Woollahra, NSW For more information, please contact us at [email protected] or DM. #secondaryartmarket #peterbooth #blockprojects

Join us tomorrow to view new works by Paul Newcombe and meet the artist in person. An artist talk will be held at the gallery from 2–4pm. Saturday, April 25, 2026

We invite you to join us for an artist talk with Paul Newcombe, presented as part of our ongoing program of artist talks and conversations. These gatherings extend beyond the exhibition, offering a more considered encounter with the work. Through direct dialogue, they open up the processes, decisions, and ideas that shape each body of work. In this conversation, Newcombe will reflect on his current exhibition, tracing the development of his practice and the role of pattern, repetition, and variation within his works on paper. We look forward to welcoming you. __ ARTIST TALK Saturday 25 April 2026 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM #artisttalks

Big thank you to @fionasweet3 and @paulnewcombe_artist . What an amazing opening.