Jonathan Monk

With his exhibition Not A Cloud In The Sky (A Summer Group Show), at Meyer Riegger, Berlin, Jonathan Monk invites you to join him on an alternative summer break.

Monk exhibits a new series of sunset works, which he began while in Greece on holiday, a time when the regular boundaries of time become more fluid. Watching the sun set while on vacation can become a check-point of sorts, an occasion to mark the passing of the day. Painted one per day, with the precise date of creation noted, this new body of work becomes a record of time – almost like stylised On Kawara-esque date paintings that have done away with the ascetic nature of typography to present us with a more joyful and colourful reminder of the flow of time.

Other works in the show use the physical tools of a vacation, such as the aftersun lotion sculptures Après Sun I–V (2024–ongoing). Also included is one of Monk’s “Holiday Paintings” works, a series that was begun in 1992. This series sees the artist recreating the hand-written offers for flights and package holidays that could previously be found prominently displayed in the windows of travel agents.

Exhibited alongside the watercolour sunsets, aftersun sculptures and holiday paintings are other works with more- and less-obvious connections to summer holidays.