The physicality of the work is emphasised at every stage, through the weather-beaten surfaces, the insistent piecing and cutting of the collage process and the imposing scale. The shape of the field is sometimes opened out as if to enclose the spectator; elsewhere the sides are slanted making the picture plane appear to fan outwards or to slope steeply away. Strong tonal contrasts contribute to a sense of drama: blacks stamped out against flurries of silver, serrated darks sheared by light. The most recent painting, however, Bishop's Dream, a work still in progress, displays a growing concern for richness and transparency of colour and intricacy of detail.

The large paintings exhibited here span a period of five years; individual works evolve slowly, usually taking several months to complete, but the group as a whole is strikingly unified in character. Christopher Jones has remained consistent in his way of working, and has been systematic in his exploration of the possibilities such a method raises. His points of departure have remained no less constant: Braque's studio interiors, for example, and more especially the early work of de Kooning have evidently been a continuing source of inspiration. These may be unfashionable influences, but this in itself is only a further indicaton of an independence of judgement. He is an artist who has an unusually clear idea of what can still be achieved.