Walking into “Take Me Back” by local artist Julian Jamaal Jones, visitors will immediately feel the vibrant energy in the room. The gallery walls are covered with large scale, colorful quilts and gestural drawings that go from floor to ceiling. One of the far side walls of the room is painted yellow to complement the vibrancy of the artwork. The gallery space feels like a celebration.
Although Jones was born and raised in Indianapolis, this is his first hometown show. “I wanted it to be personal,” he said when I met him at Tube Factory Artspace to see the work.
While growing up, Jones’ father was a pastor’s assistant and his mother was an usher at Jones Tabernacle A.M.E Zion Church, 2510 E. 34th St., so his experience growing up was heavily steeped in this culture. As he worked on the exhibition pieces, Jones listened to gospel music and read Bible verses — this influence shows itself when taking a closer look, starting with the gold fabric along the edges of the quilts.
“I have so many memories, but the main one is the dinners after church. It was a good time to fellowship and get to know others,” said Jones.
The boldness of the colors and shapes, coupled with the size of the pieces make each piece feel important and reminiscent of religious work. The scanned textures from the drawings on the fabric, as well as the delicate and meticulous sewn lines holding the quilts together connect the traditional elements to contemporary times.
One piece, “Total Praise,” features a tunic-like shape one might see on religious figures, or even angel imagery. Repeated use of the color yellow is sprinkled throughout the works as well, which represents angels, Jones said. The darker pieces represent feelings associated with the rapture.
Because he worked so intuitively, Jones admits a lot of the imagery and symbolism included in the work did not become apparent until he was finished with a piece.
In addition to being compelled to show the influence of the Black church, Jones also wanted to showcase the power of abstract art. When entering the exhibition space, visitors will notice a large wall on the right side is filled with framed gestural drawings. These drawings are colorful, done mostly in what appears to be energetic pastel lines that fill the page.
The drawings served as the starting point for the patterns on the quilted fabric of the large scale pieces — Jones drew over 200 sketches for the show, then selected his favorites to scan or photograph and turn into fabric.
“I’ve always had a fascination with fashion. I’m a self taught sewer,” Jones said, referencing his career start in fashion photography. Jones earned his Bachelor’s degree in Photography in 2020 from the Herron School of Art + Design and later went on to get a Master of Fine Arts at Cranbrook Academy of Art, where he focused on creating textiles. “It’s not the traditional form of quilting. I wanted to bend the standards of quilting.” he said.
Jones got to work constructing his grand quilts by laying out the fabrics on the floor, testing out different combinations of patterns and collaging his fabric together. “I let the fabric speak to me,” Jones said.
Although he made these works to showcase his experience within the Black church, Jones doesn’t mind if the work means something different to the viewer. “That’s the power of abstraction,” he said. “I want the audience to come into the show and not know what it’s about. I want viewers to make their own associations. It won’t hurt my feelings.”
“Take Me Back” is on view at Tube Factory Artspace now through March 24. Join Jones for an artist talk on March 23 at 1 p.m., led by Cranbrook Art Museum curator, Kat Goffnett. The closing reception is March 24 at 5 p.m. Admission is free.
Bekah Pollard is a contributor for Mirror Indy. Contact her at bekah.pollard@gmail.com.
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