Kurt  Jackson
Kurt Jackson There can be few artists with such a renowned commitment to the environment as Kurt Jackson; and few contemporary artists’ work that displays such an expressive response to the forces and plants and natural world he seeks to engage. You seldom come across artists, like him, with degrees from Oxford in Zoology. Still less, those who have been Artist in Residence on the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, or at the Eden Project, or for the Glastonbury Festival. Over the past thirty years, Kurt Jackson has played an extraordinary role as an artist profoundly in tune with his surroundings and the natural world, able to communicate informed and beautifully tuned ideas through painting that is nonetheless emotionally intimate as well as technically dramatic. Born in 1961 in Blandford, Dorset, Jackson graduated from St Peter’s College, Oxford, in 1983, reading Zoology but spending much of his time attending courses at Ruskin College of Art. The dual interests – in the natural world and in art – had roots in an upbringing that meant spending valued time in North Cornwall, and having parents who were both artists themselves, Kurt proving to be something of an early artistic talent. On leaving Oxford he travelled extensively, painting wherever he went, the journeys including the Arctic and across Africa. In 1984 he settled in Cornwall with his wife Caroline, the family now living on a smallholding at the edge of St Just, where they grow their own food and generate their own energy. Jackson’s thirst for engagement with the environment has presented him with many opportunities for experience and learning, and the chance to build up (and represent on canvas) a knowledge of plant and animal life – as well as numerous landscape environments from the olive groves of Provence to the sea shores of Cornwall. This knowledge of the natural world – of flora and fauna – provides the artist with a fluency of technique when approaching his subject. He is armed with a scientific awareness of, say, a fig tree’s biology, at the same time as the brush is armed with paint from the palette. This translates not just as veracity, as someone knowing what he is talking about, but also as a freedom of performance. Jackson is a fluid action painter, able to record his feelings, his emotional response to a landscape, directly onto canvas; and thus to elicit our emotional response to landscape in a fresh uninhibited way. This ability to convey a direct emotional response to landscape is undoubtedly one of the keys to Jackson’s considerable success. Certainly he is an artist with an increasingly significant stature, and someone who has enjoyed successive sell-out exhibitions with Messum’s. It is a remarkable record, and a capital testament to one whose paintings frequently evoke charged reactions from viewers – reactions that reveal that Jackson’s work has acted like a burst of nature upon them; has, in fact, a life-affirming effect.
Kurt Jackson olive and fig Provence
2018
www.messums.com 28 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG Telephone: +44 (0)20 7437 5545
1 French olive and fig one afternoon. 2015 mixed media on wood panel 60 x 60 cms 235⁄8 x 235⁄8 ins
le figuier J’approche le figuier Dans son soleil et ombre Je m’asseois sur le sol rouge Avec les fourmis et les lezards Les feuilles suspendues Comme des mains vertes Les fruits comme des trous Dans le ciel blanc Je fais l’image Des cris des geais Et l’ombre en mouvement Les oliviers avoisinant Et ce figuier chaud Kurt Jackson Claviers Sept 2015
2 Fig and olive. 2015–2017 mixed media on canvas 122 x 122 cms 48 x 48 ins
Olive and Fig, Provence As you leave Claviers and climb uphill out of the village following
They punctuate the groves acting as navigation aids on the
the narrow sun-splashed and shadow-striped road, you reach
terraces but also focal points for the other residents. Their deep
the terraced slopes of St Marc. There the contours of this once
cool leafy shade and sticky fruits attract the insects and birds
forested rocky land have been shaped by the villagers for
and mammals. The macaw-like screeches of jays with the cackle of magpies fill the groves when
moulded into an arboriculture
feasting on these fruits. Beneath
where the olive tree reigns
the trees where the plummeting
supreme. White and orange and
abundant figs themselves decorate
ochre limestone terraces and walls,
the ground, staining the rocks and
buttresses and paths stratify these
soaking into the dry soil, ants swarm
hills horizontally, where the ancient
and butterflies glide and rest;
and truly gnarled trees line up to
swallowtails, graylings and white
lean and cavort. The centuries
admirals visit to sip at this nectar.
of being pruned, pollarded and
Boar scats show the nocturnal visits
coppiced have left their mark,
of these shy beasts alongside the
visible in the contorted bone-like
badgers’ offerings. And here I sat,
trunks and stumps bonsaied on
beneath and in the neighbouring
their strips of stony red soil. Between these oily matriarchs and dotted amongst the deep shadows are the fig trees. Some are feral wild specimens, the seeds
photograph © Caroline Jackson
thousands of years, melded and
olive trees’ shade, shielded from the sun’s challenges, within touching distance of the fig to swat at the horse flies and flick away the ants, while I painted the light and dark, this place of sharp contrast.
planted by the droppings of a bird
A sweet smell emanates from the
or the spit of a passing farmer, tolerated, accommodated and eventually tended, appreciated
trees – the leaves basking and baking in the intense heat of
and harvested. Others have been planted just like their grey
Provence release a powerful perfume that drifts through the
green neighbours the olives; named varieties producing their
grove. Even a hundred yards away from the tree you can smell it
sweet purple or yellow figs. The figs provide a splash of vivid
and it brings on an appetite, a hunger. I pick a few of the small
green and yellow amongst all this ‘olive green’, seen through
sugary dark figs to eat; is this the reason for the scent, to aid
the framing verticals of the black olive trunks. The eye is drawn
seed dispersal? But why do the leaves smell even when there are
to their great pendulous leaves, hand-like pointing to the
no fruits on the tree?
laterite soils in submission to the heat of the day or silhouetted against the sky in applause; a mass of yellow palms fanning the air.
Kurt Jackson Claviers Sept 2015
3 The fig tree nestles in amongst her neighbours, the olives. 2015–2017 mixed media on linen 200 x 173 cms 783⁄4 x 681⁄8 ins
4 Grayling butterfly and figs. 2015 mixed media on museum board 21 x 22 cms 81⁄8 x 81⁄2 ins
5 One fig many olives. Jay’s screech, finch twitter. 2015 mixed media on paper 57 x 61 cms 221⁄2 x 24 ins
6 Je suis venu en France pour les figues. 2015 mixed media on paper 65 x 50 cms 255⁄8 x 19 5⁄8 ins
7 The odd fig tree amongst the French olive trees. Hot sunlight. Grasshoppers and crickets singing. 2015 mixed media on museum board  58 x 61 cms 227⠄8 x 24 ins
8 A few leaves off the fig tree and some of the flowers growing beneath. 2015 mixed media on museum board 23 x 22 cms 9 x 85⁄8 ins
9 French sun and shade. 2015 mixed media and collage on paper  56 x 63 cms 22 x 243⠄4 ins
10 Les figues sont noires, bleues, mauves et jaunes. 2015 mixed media on paper 60 x 42 cms 235⁄8 x 161⁄2 ins
11 The olive shed in the late afternoon sunlight. 2015 mixed media on paper 57 x 61 cms 221⁄2 x 24 ins
12 Hot fig. 2015 charcoal on paper 59 x 42 cms 231⁄4 x 161⁄2 ins
13 Olive and wild fig. 2015–2017 mixed media on linen 64 x 92 cms 251⁄4 x 361⁄4 ins
14 Bit of paradise. 2015–2017 mixed media on linen 120 x 92 cms 471⁄4 x 361⁄4 ins
15 Fig, olive, limestone, terracotta. 2015 mixed media on museum board  23 x 23 cms 9 x 9 ins
16 Figs and olives, the sun is going in. 2015 mixed media on paper  57 x 61 cms 221⠄2 x 24 ins
17 Caroline, olive and fig. 2015 mixed media on museum board  22 x 23 cms 85⠄8 x 9 ins
18 Up the terraces to a yellow fig tree. 2015 mixed media on paper 57 x 62 cms 221⁄2 x 243⁄8 ins
19 Fig yellow, olive green. 2015 mixed media and collage on museum board 21 x 22 cms 81⁄8 x 85⁄8 ins
20 Fig on a hot terraced hillside. 2015 mixed media on paper 60 x 57 cms 235⁄8 x 221⁄2 ins
21 Fig and olive and cypress as the sun goes behind the hill. 2015 mixed media on museum board 25 x 27 cms 97⁄8 x 105⁄8 ins
22 The enormous fig tree between the olive trees, magpies cackle and croon. 2015 mixed media on paper  57 x 61 cms 221⠄2 x 24 ins
23 Late afternoon olive terraces. 2015 mixed media on museum board 23 x 21 cms 9 x 81⁄4 ins
24 La Reinette Olivier. 2015 mixed media on paper 56 x 60 cms 22 x 235⁄8 ins
25 One big fig tree in a sea of olives below the forest. 2015 mixed media on museum board 18 x 17 cms 71⁄8 x 63⁄4 ins
26 Fig trees glow yellow in the early evening sunlight in the olive grove. 2015–2017 mixed media on canvas  122 x 122 cms 48 x 48 ins
27 Eggar moth and yellow figs. 2015 mixed media on museum board 17 x 17 cms 63⁄4 x 63⁄4 ins
28 One fig one olive. 2015 mixed media on wood panel 60 x 60 cms 235⁄8 x 235⁄8 ins
29 Mes figues. 2015 mixed media on museum board 24 x 23 cms 91⁄2 x 9 ins
30 The fig tree in the olive grove, hot morning sunlight. 2015 mixed media on wood panel 60 x 60 cms 235⁄8 x 235⁄8 ins
31 Yellow fig tree in an olive grove. 2015 mixed media on paper 91 x 102 cms 357⁄8 x 401⁄8 ins
32 Squashed figs and ants. 2015 mixed media on museum board 22 x 23 cms 81⁄2 x 9 ins
33 Fig in front of the olives. 2015 mixed media on museum board 22 x 21 cms 81⁄2 x 81⁄8 ins
34 The squashed fig. 2015 mixed media and collage on museum board 13 x 22 cms 51⁄8 x 85⁄8 ins
35 The olive shed. 2015 mixed media and collage on museum board 25 x 26 cms 97⁄8 x 101⁄4 ins
36 The man who found me in his olive grove. 2015–2017 mixed media on canvas 92 x 92 cms 36 x 36 ins
37 Figs and snail shells from under a fig tree. 2015 mixed media and collage on museum board 35 x 35 cms 133⁄4 x 133⁄4 ins
38 Le figuier. 2015 charcoal on paper 59 x 42 cms 231⁄4 x 161⁄2 ins
39 Les feuilles des figuiers de St Marc. 2015 ink on paper  38 x 37 cms 15 x 145⠄8 ins
40 Big fig tree full of butterflies and birds. 2015 mixed media on museum board 22 x 23 cms 85⁄8 x 9 ins
41 Je suis arrivé en Provence pour les figues. 2015 mixed media on museum board 23 x 23 cms 87⁄8 x 9 ins
42 Sun setting through the fig and olive leaves. 2015 mixed media on museum board  23 x 22 cms 9 x 85⠄8 ins
43 Jays love figs. 2015–2017 mixed media and collage 24 x 28 cms 91⁄2 x 11 ins
44 Le grand figuier. 2015 mixed media on wood panel 60 x 60 cms 235⁄8 x 235⁄8 ins
45 Le figuier. 2015–2018 mixed media and collage 30 x 33 cms 113⁄4 x 13 ins
46 French garden olive grove with blackbirds singing. 2015 mixed media on paper 57 x 62 cms 221⁄2 x 243⁄8 ins
47 The fig tree framed by olive trees. 2015 mixed media on wood panel 30 x 36 cms 113⁄4 x 141⁄8 ins
48 Terraces, fig amongst the olives, strong afternoon sunshine. 2015 mixed media on paper 47 x 52 cms 181⁄2 x 201⁄2 ins
49 Two Claviers olive trees and one fig tree. 2015 mixed media on paper 45 x 40 cms 173⁄4 x 153⁄4 ins
50 Scream of jays as the sun sinks behind the mountain. 2015 mixed media and collage on museum board  40 x 38 cms 153⠄4 x 15 ins
51 Up the olive terraces in the late sunshine. 2015 mixed media on paper 29 x 31 cms 113⁄8 x 121⁄4 ins
52 Provençal trees. 2015 mixed media on paper 22 x 29 cms 85⁄8 x 113⁄8 ins
53 Small fig, sundown. 2015 mixed media on museum board 20 x 22 cms 77⁄8 x 85⁄8 ins
54 The big sweet smelling fig tree. 2015 mixed media on paper 57 x 62 cms 221⁄2 x 243⁄8 ins
55 Les figues de Provence. 2015 mixed media and collage on paper 17 x 76 cms 63⁄4 x 297⁄8 ins
Biography A dedicated environmentalist and true polymath, Jackson’s holistic approach to his subject seamlessly blends art and politics providing a springboard to create a hugely varied body of work unconstrained by format or scale. Jackson’s artistic practice ranges from his trademark visceral pleinair sessions to studio work and embraces an extensive range of materials and techniques including mixed media, large canvases, print-making and sculpture. The son of artists, Jackson was born in Blandford, Dorset in 1961. While studying Zoology at Oxford University he spent most of his time painting and attending courses at Ruskin College of Art. On gaining his degree he travelled extensively and independently, painting wherever he went before putting down roots in Cornwall with his wife Caroline in 1984. A dedication to and celebration of the environment is intrinsic to both his politics and his art; a holistic involvement with his subject informs his formal innovations. Jackson’s focus on the complexity, diversity and fragility of the natural world has led to artist-inresidencies on the Greenpeace ship Esperanza, the Eden Project and for nearly 20 years Glastonbury Festival which has become a staple of his annual working calendar.
Over the past thirty years Jackson has had numerous art publications released to accompany his exhibitions. Three monographs on Jackson have been published by Lund Humphries depicting his career so far; A New Genre of Landscape Painting (2010), Sketchbooks (2012) and A Kurt Jackson Bestiary (2015). A Sansom & Company published book based on his touring exhibition Place was released in 2014. Jackson regularly contributes to radio and television and presents environmentally informed art documentaries for the BBC. He has an Honorary Doctorate (DLitt) from Exeter University and is an Honorary Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford University. He is an ambassador for Survival International and frequently works with Greenpeace, WaterAid, Oxfam and Cornwall Wildlife Trust. He is a patron of human rights charity Prisoners of Conscience and an academician at the Royal West of England Academy. Kurt Jackson and his wife Caroline live and work in the mostwesterly town in Britain, St Just-in-Penwith where in 2015 they set up the Jackson Foundation. They have three grown children and four young grandchildren.
Recent Selected Solo Exhibitions and Events For the last 35 years Kurt Jackson has been exhibiting internationally and nationally in both commercial and public art spaces. For a full cv and bibliography see www.kurtjackson.com 2017
2016
‘Bees (and the odd wasp) in my Bonnet’, Jackson Foundation, St Just.
‘Kurt Jackson, ‘Obsession, Following the Surfer’, Jackson Foundation, St Just.
‘The River Exe’, Lympstone Manor, Exmouth. ‘The Cornish Seas’, Messum’s, London.
‘Kurt Jackson, Revisiting Turner’s Tourism’, Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.
‘Inspiring Landmarks, Landmark Trust, Spitalfields, London.
‘Continental’, Campden Gallery, Gloucestershire.
‘Cot: A Cornish Valley’, Jackson Foundation, St Just.
Invited Artist, Paisley Art Institute, Glasgow.
‘A Cotswold Village’, Campden Gallery, Gloucestershire.
‘Bees [and the odd wasp] in my Bonnet’, University of Oxford, Museum of Natural History.
CDXLI
ISBN 978-1-910993-33-0 Publication No: CDXLI Published by David Messum Fine Art Š David Messum Fine Art
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Studio, Lords Wood, Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Tel: 01628 486565 www.messums.com Photography: Fynn Tucker Printed by DLM-Creative All images, foreword and poem Š Kurt Jackson
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