Oliver L. Jackson, 2018.
Photo by Weston Wells, courtesy of Malin Gallery, NY.
Oliver Lee Jackson
Oliver Lee Jackson is a painter, sculptor, printmaker, and draftsman whose work is grounded in figuration. His artworks are in the permanent collections of The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Museum of Modern Art, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Art Institute of Chicago; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Detroit Institute of the Arts; New Orleans Museum of Art; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; Saint Louis Art Museum; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; San Jose Museum of Art; Seattle Art Museum, and many other public and private collections.
Oliver Lee Jackson was born in 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri. He began exhibiting his works in the mid-1960s. At that time, he was also active with community cultural projects in St. Louis. He served as Assistant Director of People's Art Center (1963-64) and as Director of Program Uhuru (1967-68), which he created at Pruitt & Igoe public housing to bring to low-income youth a constructive means of developing dialogue through arts programs. In St. Louis, Jackson became involved with the Black Artists Group (1968-72) through his close association with Julius Hemphill and others, acting as consultant and collaborator on multimedia arts presentations for the African American community (he was not an official BAG member). BAG was founded by musicians, theater artists, dancers, and visual artists who demanded a greater place in the cultural landscape for African American creative expression. In the early 1970s, Jackson articulated the concept of the African Continuum and using that name, he and other artists and community activists collaborated on presenting arts programs as a vehicle for showing the fullness and continuity of African creative traditions.
As a young artist, Jackson studied at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL (BFA 1958). After serving in the U.S. Army (honorable discharge, 1961), he attended the University of Iowa, Iowa City (MFA 1963). As an instructor, lecturer, and professor of art from 1964 to 2002, Jackson taught and lectured in Art, Philosophy, and Pan African Humanities, and was a Curriculum Consultant for the creation of programs in Pan African Studies. Jackson has also been Artist-in-Residence/Visiting Artist at numerous institutions, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1979); Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Wake Forest University and North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC (1980); University of California, Santa Barbara (1985); University of Washington, Seattle (1985); University of Iowa, Iowa City (1985); California State University Summer Arts Program, Arcata, CA (1986, 1994); University of Illinois, Champaign (1988); University of California, Berkeley (1989); University of Hawaii, Hilo (1993, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2012); San Francisco Art Institute (1993); California College of Arts & Crafts Summer Institute in France, at Aix-en-Provence (1999) and Paris (2000); CalArts Summer Institute, Valencia, CA (2007); Flint Hill School, Oakton, Virginia (2006-10); and Pacific Northwest College of Art/Willamette University, Portland, OR (2021). Jackson spent extended periods in 1983 and 1985 in Carrara, Italy, working on marble sculptures, which he has continued in his studio in Oakland, California.
Solo museum exhibitions include the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (2021-22); di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, CA (2021-22); National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (2019); Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (2012); Harvard University, Cambridge MA (2002); Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA (1993); Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA (1993, 1984, 1977); University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (1985); University of California Art Museum, Berkeley (1983); Seattle Art Museum (1982); St. Louis Art Museum (1980); Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC (1980), and others.
In 2000, Harry Cooper, then Curator of Modern Art at Harvard Art Museums (now at the National Gallery of Art) invited Jackson to serve as Artist in Residence at Harvard University. During his residency, Jackson created a series of paintings for an exhibition in remembrance of his friend, saxophonist and composer Julius Hemphill (1938–1995). In 2002, the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts at Harvard presented the collaborative installation Duo in homage to Hemphill, an exhibition of six paintings by Jackson and a music soundtrack composed by Marty Ehrlich.
In 2021, Jackson completed the folio "Dear Friend," a boxed set of photogravure prints of Julius Hemphill's music manuscripts and Jackson's drawings. The folio, whose title comes from one of Hemphill's compositions, includes a title page; twelve pages of prints; three pages with texts by Harry Cooper, Marty Ehrlich, Paul Carter Harrison, Ursula Oppens, and Donald Suggs; an index to the plates, and colophon.
Jackson’s paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints have been exhibited in group exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY (Biennial, 1983); Museum of Modern Art, NY; Museo do Arte Moderno, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Seattle Art Museum; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New Orleans Museum of Art; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, and many others.
Oliver Lee Jackson has received commissions for paintings, sculptures, and theater set designs. In 1986, the General Services Administration commissioned a marble sculpture for the Federal Courthouse, Oakland, CA; Jackson's marble obelisk was installed in front of the building in 1993. In 1986, the California Arts Council commissioned a painting for the State Office Building, San Francisco. Jackson has created numerous theatrical sets, including for plays by Paul Carter Harrison. In 1993 he designed sets for the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet production of Dennis Nahat's “The Overcoat.” In 2018 San Francisco Arts Commission purchased a painting for installation at San Francisco International Airport. Jackson's works have been used as cover art for LPs and CDs by Julius Hemphill and Marty Ehrlich, as well as on books by Quincy Troupe and other writers.
Honors and awards include a 2023 Lee Krasner Award for lifetime achievement from the Pollock Krasner Foundation; Award in Painting and Sculpture, Awards in the Visual Arts, Flintridge Foundation, Pasadena, CA (2003/2004); Fleishhacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship (1993); a grant from Art Matters, New York (1988); Nettie Marie Jones Fellowship (1984); and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1980-81).
Since 1982 Oliver Jackson’s studio has been in Oakland, California.
Oliver Lee Jackson was born in 1935 in St. Louis, Missouri. He began exhibiting his works in the mid-1960s. At that time, he was also active with community cultural projects in St. Louis. He served as Assistant Director of People's Art Center (1963-64) and as Director of Program Uhuru (1967-68), which he created at Pruitt & Igoe public housing to bring to low-income youth a constructive means of developing dialogue through arts programs. In St. Louis, Jackson became involved with the Black Artists Group (1968-72) through his close association with Julius Hemphill and others, acting as consultant and collaborator on multimedia arts presentations for the African American community (he was not an official BAG member). BAG was founded by musicians, theater artists, dancers, and visual artists who demanded a greater place in the cultural landscape for African American creative expression. In the early 1970s, Jackson articulated the concept of the African Continuum and using that name, he and other artists and community activists collaborated on presenting arts programs as a vehicle for showing the fullness and continuity of African creative traditions.
As a young artist, Jackson studied at Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, IL (BFA 1958). After serving in the U.S. Army (honorable discharge, 1961), he attended the University of Iowa, Iowa City (MFA 1963). As an instructor, lecturer, and professor of art from 1964 to 2002, Jackson taught and lectured in Art, Philosophy, and Pan African Humanities, and was a Curriculum Consultant for the creation of programs in Pan African Studies. Jackson has also been Artist-in-Residence/Visiting Artist at numerous institutions, including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (1979); Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Wake Forest University and North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC (1980); University of California, Santa Barbara (1985); University of Washington, Seattle (1985); University of Iowa, Iowa City (1985); California State University Summer Arts Program, Arcata, CA (1986, 1994); University of Illinois, Champaign (1988); University of California, Berkeley (1989); University of Hawaii, Hilo (1993, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2012); San Francisco Art Institute (1993); California College of Arts & Crafts Summer Institute in France, at Aix-en-Provence (1999) and Paris (2000); CalArts Summer Institute, Valencia, CA (2007); Flint Hill School, Oakton, Virginia (2006-10); and Pacific Northwest College of Art/Willamette University, Portland, OR (2021). Jackson spent extended periods in 1983 and 1985 in Carrara, Italy, working on marble sculptures, which he has continued in his studio in Oakland, California.
Solo museum exhibitions include the Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (2021-22); di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa, CA (2021-22); National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (2019); Contemporary Art Museum, St. Louis, MO (2012); Harvard University, Cambridge MA (2002); Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, CA (1993); Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA (1993, 1984, 1977); University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (1985); University of California Art Museum, Berkeley (1983); Seattle Art Museum (1982); St. Louis Art Museum (1980); Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Winston-Salem, NC (1980), and others.
In 2000, Harry Cooper, then Curator of Modern Art at Harvard Art Museums (now at the National Gallery of Art) invited Jackson to serve as Artist in Residence at Harvard University. During his residency, Jackson created a series of paintings for an exhibition in remembrance of his friend, saxophonist and composer Julius Hemphill (1938–1995). In 2002, the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts at Harvard presented the collaborative installation Duo in homage to Hemphill, an exhibition of six paintings by Jackson and a music soundtrack composed by Marty Ehrlich.
In 2021, Jackson completed the folio "Dear Friend," a boxed set of photogravure prints of Julius Hemphill's music manuscripts and Jackson's drawings. The folio, whose title comes from one of Hemphill's compositions, includes a title page; twelve pages of prints; three pages with texts by Harry Cooper, Marty Ehrlich, Paul Carter Harrison, Ursula Oppens, and Donald Suggs; an index to the plates, and colophon.
Jackson’s paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints have been exhibited in group exhibitions at the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY (Biennial, 1983); Museum of Modern Art, NY; Museo do Arte Moderno, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Seattle Art Museum; Portland Art Museum, Oregon; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; New Orleans Museum of Art; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas, Austin, and many others.
Oliver Lee Jackson has received commissions for paintings, sculptures, and theater set designs. In 1986, the General Services Administration commissioned a marble sculpture for the Federal Courthouse, Oakland, CA; Jackson's marble obelisk was installed in front of the building in 1993. In 1986, the California Arts Council commissioned a painting for the State Office Building, San Francisco. Jackson has created numerous theatrical sets, including for plays by Paul Carter Harrison. In 1993 he designed sets for the Cleveland/San Jose Ballet production of Dennis Nahat's “The Overcoat.” In 2018 San Francisco Arts Commission purchased a painting for installation at San Francisco International Airport. Jackson's works have been used as cover art for LPs and CDs by Julius Hemphill and Marty Ehrlich, as well as on books by Quincy Troupe and other writers.
Honors and awards include a 2023 Lee Krasner Award for lifetime achievement from the Pollock Krasner Foundation; Award in Painting and Sculpture, Awards in the Visual Arts, Flintridge Foundation, Pasadena, CA (2003/2004); Fleishhacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship (1993); a grant from Art Matters, New York (1988); Nettie Marie Jones Fellowship (1984); and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1980-81).
Since 1982 Oliver Jackson’s studio has been in Oakland, California.
