NEW YORK, NY.- Kathryn Markel Fine Arts announced the third solo exhibition of paintings by New York artist Julian Jackson. Jackson's exhibition, will o' the wisp, presents a new body of work expanding the artist's development on the subject of light.
In folklore involving the will o' the wisp, a term used to describe the flickering light of twilight, travelers are led to unexpected places from one world to the next. In this show Julian is working with our perception of and experience with light. Where previously the artist received his inspiration from the commune of light within nature, this show speaks of light as a direct entity. Yet as the title implies, the attraction of light is anything but direct. Jackson's paintings deliver light as both a lure and an escort between the determinate and the ephemeral. With the application of layers consisting of very thin oil glazes and the tedious process of brushing and softening the paint surface presents an imagery of color closely resembling an objective light source. Says the artist, "ultimately, the phenomena of light, color, and a sense of layered space are the central themes of this work." The illumination and focus of these beautiful paintings helps the viewer focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, one which may tempt us to cross boundaries from this world into the next. In the spirit of a new decade, Jackson's au courant body of work presents us with the embodiment of transition, one that is ready to take us to the next stage and decade.
Julian Jackson studied painting, printmaking, photography and performance at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, and received his BFA from the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. He exhibits extensively throughout New York and Germany, and has work in several well known collections including The Sundance Corporation and the Citibank Collection. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.