G.B. Jones (b. 1965 Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada) is an artist, filmmaker, musician, and publisher of zines. Jones’ drawings first received notoriety when published in the Toronto-based queer punk zine J.D.s that she ran with Bruce LaBruce. Her prolific drawing series Tom Girls is widely recognized, and reimagines Tom of Finland’s drawings by replacing all the hyper-masculine subjects with women, subverting the intent into a contribution to third-wave feminist art. In 2002, Jones began a series of collaborative collages with Paul P., many of which were published in the book A Queer Anthology of Rage. Jones’ spray-painted images of Ionian columns— one of which is permanently installed at Cooper Cole— references her post-punk band Fifth Column (1981–2002) and suggests the weaving together of her music and drawing practice.
Jones has exhibited her art nationally and internationally since the early 1990s, in spaces such as Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus; Participant Inc., New York; Mercer Union, Toronto; The Power Plant, Toronto; Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna; White Columns, New York; AKA Artist Run Space, Winnipeg; Muncher Kunstverein, Munich; and Schwules Museum, Berlin. She was included in the 2012 exhibition This Will Have Been: Art, Love, and Politics in the 1990s, which was curated by Helen Molesworth for the MCA Chicago and subsequently travelled to the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, and the ICA Philadelphia. She has also exhibited at national and international galleries including David Zwirner, New York; Cooper Cole, Toronto; Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto; Feature, New York; Galerie Clark, Montreal; and Or Gallery, Vancouver. G.B. Jones lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
CV
Born in Bowmanville, Canada
Lives and works in Toronto, Canada
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2018
G.B. Jones, Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada
2017
Born Yesterday (two-person with Paul P.), Participant Inc, New York, USA
2011
Past Present Future, Lexander, Los Angeles, USA
2008
La-bas, La Centrale Galerie, Montreal, Canada
2007
Rise Up Thou Earth, Sunday, New York, USA
2005
The Power and the Glory, Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto, Canada
2003
Crush, Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto, Canada
1996
Good. Bad. G.B. Jones (cur. Reid Shier), Or Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
1994
Girly Pictures (cur. Shonagh Adelman), Mercer Union, Toronto, Canada
1991
Feature, New York, USA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2019
Art After Stonewall, 1969 – 1989, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, USA
2017
Nature’s Way (cur. Lee Plested), Cooper Cole, Toronto, Canada
2016
Coming to Power: 25 Years of Sexually X-Plicit Art by Women, Maccarone, New York, USA
2013
She (cur. Adam Sherman and Kathleen Cullen), Kathleen Cullen Fine Arts, New York, USA
Rare and Raw (curs. Steph Rogerson, Kelly McCray), Leslie-Lohman Museum, New York, USA
2012
This Will Have Been: Art, Love and Politics in the 1990s (cur. Helen Molesworth), Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Travelling to Walker Arts Center, Minneapolis and Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, USA
2010
IN NUMBERS: Serial Publications by Artists since 1955 (curs. Andrew Roth and Phil Aarons), X Initiative, New York, USA
Tom of Finland and then some, Feature Inc., New York, USA
Do You Love Me? (cur. by Kim Fullerton), Tom Thompson Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Canada
2009
Smell It! (cur. by Dietmar Schwarzler), Kunsthalle Exnergasse, Vienna, Austria
2008
Ad Memoriam (cur. by Joel Gibb), Exile, Berlin, Germany
2007
Shared Women (curs. Eve Fowler, Emily Roysdon, A. L. Steiner), Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA
2006
Freak Out, Ateneo Squat, Rome, Italy
Teenage Kicks, Galerie Clark, Montreal, Canada
2005
Wear Me Out (cur. Tania Hammidi), One Archives, Los Angeles, USA
2004
Pink Steam: Artists Respond To Kevin Killian and Dodie Bellamy (cur. Colter Jacobson), San Francisco Public Library, San Francisco, USA
Practice More Failure (cur. LTTR), Art In General, Brooklyn, USA
2003
Drawing: The End Of The Line, Ecole Municipale de Dessin, Paris, France
2000
Sex In The Country, Forde Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
1999
A Girl Like You, Galerie Praz, Paris, France
The J.D.s Years (cur. Luis Jacob), Art Metropole, Toronto, Canada
1998
Drawers, Feature, New York, USA
Sugar, Sex, Magik, Brasilica, Berlin, Germany
1997
16 Rippen: Internationale Kunstlerinnen in Schwulen Museum, Schwules Museum, Berlin, Germany
Flying Buttress Please, Torch, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Hothead L. Terrorist & Friends (cur. Sue-Ellen), Saw Gallery, Ottawa, Canada
Drag City (cur. Robert Sauvey), AKA Gallery, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Ms. Strangelove (curs. Caroline Azar, Rebecca Baird), McGill Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1996
Fictions (cur. Marcella Beccaria), Guido Carbone, Torino, Italy
Drag City, Ace Art, Winnipeg, Canada
1995
Beauty # 2 (cur. Philip Monk), The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada
Representational Drawings, Feature, New York, USA
Fake I. D. (cur. Lia Gangitano), 88 Room, Allston, USA
Smells Like Vinyl, Roger Merians Gallery, New York, USA
In A Different Light, University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, USA
1994
Stonewall 25 (cur. Bill Arning), White Columns, New York, USA
And, Feature, New York, USA
Oh Boy, It’s A Girl, Muncher Kunstverein, Munich, Germany
Coming To Power: 25 Years Of Sexually X-plicit Art By Women (cur. Ellen Kantor), Real Art Ways, Hartford, USA
(Tiny) SHOES, New Langton Arts, San Francisco, USA
Truth Be Told: It’s All About Love (cur. Joseph Lauretano), Lennon Weinberg Inc., New York, USA
Part Fantasy, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Plug-In, Winnipeg, Canada
Fine Arts Gallery University of British Columbia (cur. Nicola Tyson), Vancouver, Canada
The Use Of Pleasure (cur. Bob Nickas), Terrain, San Francisco, USA
1993
Up With People, Feature, New York, USA
Tom Of Finland, G.B. Jones, Daniel Buchholz, Cologne, Germany
Eau de Cologne 1983-1993, Monica Spruth Galerie, Cologne, Germany
Coming To Power: 25 Years Of Sexually X-plicit Art By Women (cur. Ellen Kantor), David Zwirner, New York, USA
1992
Trouble Over So Much Skin, Feature, New York, USA
Part Fantasy, Trial Balloon 2, New York, USA
Drawings, Stuart Regen Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Stephen Dillemuth and Joseph Strau, Forum Stadtpark, Graz, Austria
The Red Light Show (cur. Jack Jaeger), Stichtung CASCO, Utrecht, The Netherlands
1991
Situation (curs. Pam Gregg and Nayland Blake), New Langton Arts, San Francisco, USA
All Grown Up, The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York, New York, USA
Outrageous Desire, Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Canada
1990
All But The Obvious, Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, Los Angeles, USA
Selected Bibliography
2013
Leaf, Aaron, “Rare, raw and Canadian”, Xtra!, 25 February
2012
Danchuk, Jenna, “This Will Have Been…”,Fuse Magazine, 1 July
Foumberg, Jason, “This Will Have Been…”, Frieze, 1 October
Kearney, Rebecca, “The queer voice arises: Art of the 1980’s”, Bay Window, 20 November
2010
Armstrong, John, “Do You Love Me?: Pet Sounds”, Canadian Art, 23 September
Cotter, Holland, “Art in Review”, The New York Times, 28 January
Vesey, Alyx, “The Yo-Yo Gang and The Lollipop Generation”, Bitch Magazine, November
Wolfe, A., “Grrrlbludd: Archiving riot grrrl’s zine history”, Broken Pencil, Issue 46 Winter
2009
Aarons, Philip; Roth, Andrew, In Numbers: Serial Publications By Artists Since 1955, PPP Editions and Andrew Roth Inc., Publishers, New York
Arena, Tony, “GB Jones”, Maximum Rock ‘ N ‘ Roll, Issue 317, October
Emmenegger, Nicole, “Lollipop Generation –GB Jones”, Jenny Woolworth’s Women In Punk Blog
Hanna, Kathleen, “GB JONES”, Kathleen’s Blog, 17 October
Hanson, “A Tribute to G.B. Jones”, Catch Fire, 4 September
Keough, Peter, “Review: The Lollipop Generation”, The Phoenix, 6 May
M., Michael, “GB Jones “Lollipop Generation” “, Pick Me!, 18 January
2008
Anderson, Jason, “Images In Vague”, Eye Weekly, 3 April
Bougerol, Elizabeth, “What You’re Doing Tonight”, NBC New York, 16 December
Dault, Gary Michael, “Permissions, ungranted”, The Globe and Mail, July 12
Davies, Jon, “Image Fest: G.B. Jones”, Xtra, 27 March
Goddard, Peter, “Festival the antidote to ‘image glut’”, The Toronto Star, 3 April
Jackson, Sharyn, “Sweeter than candy on a stick”, Time Out New York,11-17 December Liss, Sarah, “Street Spirit”, Eye Weekly, 3 April
Maurikakis, Nicolas, “Jeux de miroirs”, Voir, 14 August
Rehel, Jason, “Confused by experimental cinema?”, National Post, 3 April
Schechter, Fran, “Flouting the censor”, Now Magazine, July 17 – 23, page 67
Tousignant, Isa, “G.B. Jones’s Là-bas is here!”, Hour, 21 August
Turner, Leah, “Going Postal”, Colour Magazine, Issue 5.6
2006
Anderson, Randall, “In Review: Teenage Kicks”, Canadian Art, Winter Issue
Crevier, Lyne, “Make Trouble”, Ici, 14 -20 September; page 54
Reckitt, Helena, “—ifesto: Feminist Art’s Shifting Ground”, C Magazine, Summer
2005
Lippens, Nate, “Drawn In The Dark”, The Stranger, 3 – 9 March
Miller, Earl, “File Under Anarchy”, C Magazine, December
Sasha, “Ms. Jones; you got a thing going on”, Xtra, 28 April
2004
Cotter, Holland, “Art In Review: Explosion LTTR”, The New York Times, August 6
Donelly, Trisha, “The Artists’ Artists”, Art Forum, December; page 85
Huston, Johnny Ray, “Steamy Windows” San Francisco Bay Guardian, 7 July
2003
Davies, Nicholas, “Taking Responsibility; artists shouldn’t be delinquent”, Xtra
2001
Gordon, Gordon, “Dangerous Drawing: Interview With G.B. Jones”, Tablet 15 June
2000
Berniere, Vincent, “G.B. Jones: La Fille de Tom”, Beaux Arts, November, Issue 198
Slade, Josepth W., “Pornography and Sexual Representation: A Reference Guide (Volume II) Greenwood Press
1999
Davies, Nick, “ ‘Zine It All Before?”, Xtra, 26 August; page 27
O’Hara, Craig, “The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise!”, AK Press
1998
Johnson, Ken, “Art In Review”, The New York Times, 23 January
1997
Gilmour, Allison, “Drag City (Reviews)”, C Magazine, February-April
Spada, Sabina, “L’oggetto Del Disiderio”, Tema Celeste, December
Spangler, Tina, “G.B. Jones Speaks”, Femme Flicke, Issue 5
Taubin, “Voice Choices”, The Village Voice, 12-18 November
1996
Ashare, Matt, “Chick Flicks”, The Boston Phoenix, 19 July
McDonnell, Evelyn, “Grrrls On Film”, The Village Voice, 12-18 November
1995
Farrow, Jane, “G.B. Jones Feminist Home Invasion”, Fuse, December
Mays, John, “The World Of Snide, Jokey Artwork”, The Globe And Mail, 15 July
McKay, Sally, “Beauty # 2”, Flash Art, November-December; page 59
1994
Becker, Jochen, “Klappe Dicht”, Die Tageszeitung, October
Goetz, Joachim, “Auf dem Weg zum Klon”, Landsuter Zeitung, 8 September
Helfand, Glen, “Sympathy For The Devil”, SF Weekly, 6 April
Huston, Johnny Ray, “The Return Of Sexploitation”, Future Sex, Issue 5
Huston, Johnny Ray, “Riot Biiitch”, SF Weekly, 6 July
1993
Corrigan, Susan, “New Queer Cinema”, I. D. , January; pages 56-57
Davis, Vaginal, “Artist Of The Century”, Shrimp, Issue 1
“Goings On About Town”, The New Yorker, 7 June
Scumacher, Rainald, “Koln Kritik: Symptoms Of Decay”, Flash Art, June
Sherman, Betsey, “Screen Scene”, The Boston Globe, 13 May; page 13
1992
Bekkering, Peter, “Let’s talk About Sex”, Culture Magazine WOAR, October
Dargis, Manohla, “Two Fists Up”, The Village Voice
Levin, Kim, “Choices”, The Village Voice, 4 August
“Goings On About Town”, The New Yorker, 27 July
Simpson, Les, “Tom Girls: The Art Of G.B. Jones”, My Comrade/Sister, Summer
1991
Helfand, Glen, “S. F. Fax”, Art Issues, September-October
Kotz, Liz, “G.B. Jones”, Arts, November
“The Degeneration Game”, Square Peg, Fall
1990
Block, Adam, “The Queen Of Zine”, The Advocate, November, page 75