Last updated: 28 October 2026
David Rhys Jones is the Sussex-based artist who turns walks through London and other cities into photographs, enamels and small sculptural works. Here you will find our take on his work, where to see David Rhys Jones now, what you can buy, and his two pieces in this year’s War Child auction.
Our take on David Rhys Jones
Rhys Jones works from journeys. He walks a place, photographs and draws it, then turns the results into small sculptures, artist’s books, glass and vitreous enamel. Spitalfields, Hawksmoor’s churches and Derek Jarman’s garden at Dungeness all appear in his series. “Geographically, and in human terms, Spitalfields has always been on the edge; I am drawn to document and respond to it,” he writes on his website.
His two War Child pieces show both sides of that practice. Well the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash is a blurred street in the rain, sealed in encaustic wax. A woman with a yellow umbrella and a black bag strides through a lilac haze, while a second figure follows under a dark umbrella. By contrast, As We Fell Into The Sun is a split panel: a circular window cut into black at the top shows a smeared photograph, and a glossy yellow disc sits on slate grey below.
Both are very small, but they carry a real craft pedigree. He was joint winner of the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize in 2010, and this year his work has hung in both the Royal Scottish Academy and Royal Hibernian Academy annual exhibitions. His enamel editions also tend to sell out, so a charity lot is a good way in.
David Rhys Jones: the essentials
- Trained at Central Saint Martins, London. He is now based in Lewes, East Sussex, according to his Crafts Council directory profile.
- Joint winner of the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize in 2010.
- Has exhibited at the V&A, the Royal Academy of Arts and the Courtauld Institute, where his work featured in Culture Bound, the East Wing Collection VII at Somerset House.
- Works across photography, ceramics, glass, metal, vitreous enamel and bookbinding, and has made public art, including a commissioned sculpture for Spitalfields.
- His work is in the Tate collection, according to his own biography.
- Sold through Sarah Wiseman Gallery in Oxford and the Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool.
Where to see David Rhys Jones now
- Coming up: Sound & Vision 2026, a War Child charity auction online from 27 October to 12 November 2026, with the works on view at Iconic Images Gallery, London, 6 to 8 November. The pieces are Well the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash (2026), encaustic mixed media, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page, and As We Fell Into The Sun (2026), mixed media, 15 x 21 cm (5.9 x 8.3 in), lot page.
- 196th RHA Annual Exhibition (group), Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, 25 May to 9 August 2026.
- The 200th Annual Exhibition (group), Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, 9 May to 14 June 2026, with his enamel and brass piece The White Tree.
- Resonance (group), Fabrica, Brighton, 4 to 19 April 2026, with his welded steel and enamel work The Surveyors.
How to buy a David Rhys Jones enamel or artwork
David Rhys Jones sells small enamels and editions through craft galleries. Here is what is on sale now:
- Old Liverpool: vitreous enamel on steel, 15.5 x 15.5 x 5 cm (6.1 x 6.1 x 2 in), £325 from the Bluecoat Display Centre, which also sells his Liverpool Postal ceramic mug at £18.
- Well the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash, 2026: a small encaustic mixed-media piece in the War Child Sound & Vision auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- As We Fell Into The Sun, 2026: a small mixed-media panel in the same auction, bidding from £100 until 12 November 2026 (bid here).
- Other works: through Sarah Wiseman Gallery, Oxford, or direct from the artist via his website.
David Rhys Jones FAQs
What does David Rhys Jones make?
Small sculptural works, enamels, glass and artist’s books based on walks through particular places, recorded first in photographs and drawings.
Did David Rhys Jones win the Jerwood Prize?
Yes. He was joint winner of the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Prize in 2010.
Where can I buy David Rhys Jones’s work?
The Bluecoat Display Centre in Liverpool sells his enamels online, and Sarah Wiseman Gallery in Oxford shows his work.
Where can I see his work in London?
His two War Child pieces are on view at Iconic Images Gallery from 6 to 8 November 2026.
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Main image: David Rhys Jones, Well the Rain Exploded with a Mighty Crash (detail), 2026. © David Rhys Jones, courtesy War Child. Cropped and framed by CoolCuration. Exhibition dates, prices, auction results and market figures last checked: 28 October 2026.
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