Rougette Gallery
Jackson Gregory
Jackson Gregory was born into a family of professional artists who lived and worked in Provincetown, Massachusetts. As a professional artist he also later became part of the artist enclave there. He grew up living doors away from some of the world's more well known artists and lived in the oldest house in Provincetown -- which his proud parents felt was their civic duty to show to anyone, anytime, even when their son was minding his own business in his bedroom. Jackson was raised to think the arts were "the thing" in life. He laughingly admits to perhaps even believing that art was superior back in the day. Encouraged by his father, a painter and photographer, and his mother, a classical pianist, Jackson graduated from the School at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and along the way won praise for his work, a scholarship to study in Europe, and later become an instructor at the Museum School. Twice he was awarded a grant and fellowship at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown along with other awards. He describes being raised to see art as having to be representational and struggling to make sense of abstract art until he had an epiphany where he finally got how the lines were forming relationships to other lines in a meaningful way. Later, while listening to classical music at the Boston Symphony Orchestra outside on the lawn he had "a vision of spheres floating in space and had a “eureka moment" -- this is what he had to do. He painted these spheres and, amazed at the figures and the way they interacted with each other, felt that his work was falling into place. Jackson likes setting up the interesting relationships and configurations -- sometimes flat circles and squares, sometimes 3 dimensional spheres. He says he really enjoys the precision and order that speak to him. "There's a certain amount of joy from beginning to end-- it can be difficult, I have to make decisions to get out of certain (technical) problems, and I get great joy out of that. Giacometti said 'the only thing I work for now is the feeling I get by working'-- I wish I had said that. I just enjoy my materials, sitting down and playing with my tools and seeing what I can come up with. I start by drawing...moving shapes and circles around and putting them in a configuration that clicks. Moving the art to the canvas creates a whole set of other problems to overcome. At the same time you lose yourself, lose yourself as separate being and all the baggage as you focus on your art. You can leave ordinary existence behind." He wonders whether people will ever be content to just be themselves and not become so intimidated by fine art. "It's unfortunate that it is. The market/art world can be cruel and irrelevant." Jackson’s art has been collected by numerous corporations and has been shown at the MFA in Boston and the De Cordova Museum in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Over time he became frustrated with the cautious art scene in Boston and he eventually joined his wife, artist Joan Wye, in a fledging custom tile business she had started. Initially he kept painting but soon their business -- Belfast Bay Tile Works (named after Belfast, Maine where it began) -- was thriving and Jackson channeled his art into painterly designs in clay medium. The business was a success and operated for 18 years until they moved to Maine. Each and every tile was handcrafted from clay in the studio. Joan researched ancient Persian tile making techniques and they adapted their secret methods to modern kilns. In addition to their artistic designs and large color pallet, their painstaking research resulted in tiles that did not warp – a common problem at the time. At its height the business had a storefront in Cambridge and employed several people. He describes with delight their annual open studio when people would be lined up for hours to buy their “seconds”. Jackson’s work was shown at a gallery on Newbury Street, sold through the MFA and other museum shops, and he worked closely with architects on installations. Jackson and his wife had a “sense that a tile work should be vibrant and energetic and that it should address the architectural and interior design issues involved. But most of all, the design of a tile work should be based in enduring and classic patterning; after all, tiles from the Roman, Greek, and Persian civilizations are still in existence today.” He won a number of public art awards in Boston and New York and is particularly proud of collaboration with local city school children on tiles that were installed at Davis Square Station in Somerville, Mass. The children submitted art they drew, Jackson transferred the art to tiles he had the children assist in making at the studio, and he painted the artwork. “Working with children is a plus. It’s wonderful even though it can turn ‘sophisticates’ off. I don’t feel working with children is inferior—kids have a natural affinity for art. Kids see freely before, later, when they start to worry. Aesthetically, the tiles came out well.” This particular project is viewed as one of the more successful public art installations in Boston. It has received positively reviews most notably in the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Architecture Magazine as well as other publications. Jackson’s commissions can be found at the Harvard Lampoon, the SDIC, First National Bank of Boston, John Hancock Building, the Danforth Museum, the Michigan State University Museum, hotels, restaurants, and private residences all over the Boston area. When Jackson and his wife decided to wind down the business he returned to fine art making and his screens were born. He created his fine art screens as a result of intending to make a triptych. Well aware of how intimidating abstract art can be for people, especially when they approach art over-thinking the meaning, he sees the screens as "sneaking art thought the back door by making the art into an 'art object'. Jackson says his screens “are mean to dazzle” and they garnered right from the start with a glowing review in the Boston Globe (“…gems”). When asked what his artwork means to him he responds simply about the joy of working. But when pressed further Jackson acknowledges feeling that his art “holds together and has a mystery beyond what I did. “Something that grabs you beyond what’s obvious.” He feels they relate to nature in a manner related to Minimalism “although you can pare something down only so far before you lose the mystery” and “Cezanne’s perspective that ‘nature is made up of circles and squares’”. Beyond being technically skillful, and not aiming to please people --“artists who try to please everyone end up pleasing no one”, Jackson aims for something more universal that meets the eye. The mysterious something extra. |