Phillip R. Jackson and Durant Thompson
Southside Gallery features new work by Ole Miss art faculty members, Philip R. Jackson and Durant Thompson from November 10 - December 5.
"Durant and Philip are gifted artists," said Southside Gallery's Wil Cook. "Both have achieved success early in their careers and they each have unlimited potential. We are excited to feature their work at Southside Gallery. Oxford and the University community should be proud to have two artists of this caliber here."
Philip R. Jackson is the current painting instructor at The University of Mississippi. He has held the position since 2006. In July of 2008 he exhibited landscape paintings at Southside Gallery. This will be the first exhibit featuring his well known still life paintings.
Jackson is recognized as one of America's finest contemporary realist painters. His still life paintings depict dramatic renderings of man made and organic objects. Eggs are prominent fixtures in many of Jackson's recent paintings. The artist either presents them whole or in some cases cracked with the yolk and white in a curious puddle. Often, Jackson also includes objects that are ostensibly banal, but when introduced to his still life paintings collectively, they play off of one another to create action.
Jackson's paintings have a theatrical flare; each object an actor or prop on an absurdist inspired stage. The symbolistic paintings are simultaneously humorous and pensive, evoking the full spectrum of human emotions. They appear to be inspired by a range of artistic movements, (including but not limited to Spanish still life painting, Flemish still life painting and even pop art) but are original and difficult to categorize.
Although Jackson is a young artist, his work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums. His paintings are in the permanent collections of the Evansville Museum of Art, Evansville, Indiana and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, Indiana. His work was featured on the cover of the July - August 2007 issue of American Artist, an arts journal in which an article also appeared. He has been the recipient of several awards, fellowships and grants.
Jackson received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, Ohio and a Master of Fine Arts from Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio.
Durant Thompson is the current sculpting instructor at The University of Mississippi. He has held the position since 2005. This is Thompson's first exhibit at Southside Gallery. His highly regarded found object sculptures will be showcased.
The wheel is a recurrent theme in Thompson's work. In his artist's statement, he writes that the wheel has two roles. It is both a personal symbol and a form that intrigues him as an element of design.
Upon viewing Thompson's work, one can clearly find the literal and figurative significance of the wheel. His work appears to be about travel, space and time, a metaphor for journeys both sacred and tangible. Thompson is a three dimensional artist, but is clearly striving to translate the fourth dimension.
Thompson received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Master of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge.
An artists' reception is scheduled for Thursday, November 19 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. For more information please contact Southside Gallery, 662.234.9090.
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