Untitled Painting (7.2.81)

1981

American, born 1935

On a canvas of immense scale, Oliver Jackson stages a drama with gestural brush strokes and enigmatic figures. When asked about his choices, he said he wanted "an environment expansive and open-ended enough for the figure to breathe and move." At times he has identified some of his figures as dommo, an archetype of the Dogon culture of Mali. Dommo were amorphous deities who brought gifts of civilization and social order to humankind. At other times, the artist cites his association with jazz musicians in his hometown of St. Louis as being a source for "a harmony that exceeds logic."

Oil-based enamel on cotton canvas

108 1/2 x 180 in. (275.59 x 457.2 cm)

Margaret E. Fuller Purchase Fund

82.158

Provenance: [The Quay Gallery, San Francisco, California]; purchased by the Seattle Art Museum, December 16, 1982

Photo: Paul Macapia

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Africa in America", December 18, 2004 - January 1, 2006

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Other Figures," May 25-July 16, 1989

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum Pavilion, Seattle Center, "Oliver Jackson: Recent Paintings," September 17-November 7, 1982

San Francisco, California, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, "Fresh Paint, Fifteen California Artists," 1982

Published References"Oliver Jackson: Recent Paintings," exh. cat. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1982. Ill. pp. 16-17

"Fresh Paint, Fifteen California Artists," exh. brochure. San Francisco: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1982

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