On stage and talking about his art and more on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the East Building at the National Gallery of Art will be Oliver Lee Jackson with curator Harry Cooper which will be the last event before the closure of the exhibition, Recent Paintings.
Oliver Lee Jackson was born in 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri, and can claim professions as a painter, sculptor, draftsman, Army veteran, teacher, and organizer whose works are found in major American museums.
In the exhibition at the National Gallery are about 20 paintings Mr. Jackson has made over the last 15 years, some on view publicly for the first time.
During the middle of the night when I was awakened by the tromping of footsteps above, this painting was immediately evoked by its similarity to the effects from the prison-like yard lights streaming on the inside walls of my unit. There the comparison ends for Mr. Jackson's Painting is much more colorful and cheerful than the dark and grey surroundings of a night with artificial light./Photo by Patricia Leslie
Oliver Lee Jackson, Triptych (3.20.15, 5.21.15, 6.8.15), 2015, applied felt, chalk, alkyd paint, and mixed media on wood panel, courtesy of the artist/Photo by Patricia Leslie
The works on display are like gigantic silhouettes, puzzles, some parts found in oceans; others, in dreamy states. Bold colors and big designs mark them as Jackson's own. It’s fun to try and decipher their meaning; interpretation lies in the eyes of the beholder. That's what art is all about. Jackson's paintings are contemporary, abstracts without obnoxious, blatant in-your-face messages.
Unlike Psalm 14: "The fool said in his heart: 'All are corrupt and commit abominable acts; there is none who does any good,'" Mr. Jackson's works present hope that today's state of the world is more than dark and evil, for there is room for growth and optimism like a viewer finds on these walls.
Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art, with Harry Cooper, curator, center, and Oliver Lee Jackson at the opening of Recent Paintings, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019. Behind them is Jackson's, Painting (10.14.06), 2006/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Mr. Cooper is the senior curator and head of modern art at the National Gallery of Art whose friendship with Mr. Jackson spans several decades and helped Mr. Jackson win an artist-in-residency position at Harvard University in 2002.
Michael Stein from Morgan Stanley, the sponsor of the exhibition, Recent Paintings, with Harry Cooper, curator, center, and Oliver Lee Jackson at the opening at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Oliver Lee Jackson, left, and Harry Cooper at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Oliver Lee Jackson, left, and Harry Cooper at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Oliver Lee Jackson, center, at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie
Oliver Lee Jackson, center, at the opening of Recent Paintings at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. April 11, 2019/Photo by Patricia Leslie
What: Oliver Lee Jackson: Recent Paintings
When: Now through September 15, 2019
Where: The East Building at the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall. The National Gallery is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.
How much: No charge.
Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza
For more information: 202-737-4215
patricialesli@gmail.com
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