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TESS JARAY
The Influence of Heritage in Contemporary Art
H ow T ess Jaray’s paintings create profound illusions of architectural depth and beauty
ess Jaray is a force within the spaces across the UK—from Birmingham’s landscape of contemporary ab- Centenary Square to London’s Victoria stract art, with a career that spans Station—Jaray’s contributions to art and over six decades of innovation architecture are enduring and transformative. and boundary-pushing. Born in Jaray’s paintings create an atmosphere that
In this interview, Tess Jaray reflects on her journey as an artist, her architectural inspirations, and the challenges she faced as a pioneering
T female lecturer at the Slade School of Art.
Vienna in 1937 and arriving in the United feels at once solid and ethereal, a reflection of Kingdom as a young child during the up- her unique approach to space and form. Utilizing
heaval of WWII, Jaray’s work is a profound blend of personal history and creative explo- ration. Her early studies at the prestigious Saint Martin’s School of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art laid the foundation for
vibrant color palettes and geometric motifs inspired by Italian Renaissance and Middle Eastern architecture, her compositions explore how repetition and isolation of forms can evoke the essence of architectural space without directly depicting it. Her work invites viewers to step into a world where structural lines and bold hues sug- gest something deeper—an unspoken connection between art and the built environment. Held in renowned collections worldwide, including the Tate, the Centre Pompidou, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jaray’s art is celebrated for its sophistication, its complexity, and its ability to
a practice that transcends categorization, skillfully interweaving elements of Op Art, Minimalism, and Colour Field painting. Her role as the first female lecturer at the Slade School marked a groundbreaking moment for women in art education and paved the way for generations of artists to follow. With public commissions that have redefined
Tess Jaray, renowned for her innovative abstract art, reflects on a lifelong journey through space, geometry, and color.
I“t’s not in any way deliberate that when I’m painting I set out to
create space. It’s all part of a process."
Portrait photo by Jack Edwards
F