Allen Jones

English, born 1937.

Controversial painter and sculptor Allen Jones is best known for his trio of fiberglass figures: Hatstand, Table, and Chair from 1969. The forniphilic series, which rocketed Jones to fame and made him an enemy to feminists, depicts women as furniture. They are placed in poses of submission and vanity, and clad in rubber BDSM costumes. Jones’s style reflects a desire to explore the representation of “the figure” in the context of 1960s minimalism and the decline of figural representation in art. He is fascinated by the effort and fakery people put into presenting themselves, and strives to personify the human condition in his pieces. Jones studied painting in art school but turned to sculpture as a means of giving his forms a true, physical presence. He returned to painting in the 1970s, producing works inspired by mail-order fetish-wear catalogues.