Round up of the year: 2021

Despite the experience of living through the second year of the global COVID pandemic, 2021 was (thankfully) a full and successful one for Jake. The long-awaited return to exhibiting in person proved a highlight, with the opportunity to visit the south of France and see works for Vanitas hung at the Mougins Museum of Classical Art. This medieval village, which has strong artistic links, was home to Picasso in his later years. The collaboration with Mougins Museum offered the chance to showcase Jake's historically inspired imagery alongside objects and artefacts housed in the museum's permanent collection, providing a fascinating link with themes of commemoration and memorialisation found within Jake's collection of oil paintings and drawings. You can read more details and view images of all works from the Vanitas show by viewing the exhibition catalogue here.

Jake's work also traveled to Taiwan in October, with the painting Dutch Still Life, after Rachel Ruysch and Jan Davidsz de Heem on show at Art Taipei in the city's World Trade Centre.

Back home, Jake was honoured to take part in the charity art auction Drawing a line under Torture, organised by Freedom from Torture and hosted by Sotheby's in New Bond Street, London. His painting Study after Francis Coates Jones went under the hammer and Jake is incredibly proud to have contributed towards the whopping £265,000 total amount raised by the event. 100% of his painting's sales price will go towards support for survivors of torture living in the UK.

Jake spent the closing part of the year working on a new collection of oil paintings for his forthcoming solo exhibition, due to open in March 2022 at Unit London in Mayfair. Further details including confirmed dates, a preview of work and information about visiting the exhibition will be available to share soon.

Jake Wood-Evans in his studio, January 2022