Gallery Of The Month The Jackson Foundation

GALLERY OF THE MONTH

The Jackson Foundation

With exhibitions that consistently bring the power, issues, and beauty of our natural environment to the forefront, the Jackson Foundation and its leading resident artist, Kurt Jackson, have always been passionate about being a gallery that looks to raise awareness just as much as it looks to showcase stunning contemporary British art. Here, we catch up with them on their plans for summer and what this past year has uncovered...

There has always been a powerful message about the value of nature and our impact on our environments with the exhibitions and work of renowned contemporary artist Kurt Jackson. At his award-winning gallery in St Just, The Jackson Foundation has consistently worked with local and international environmental groups to create cohesive exhibitions that tell a story. Whether it is of human impact on the environment, or the magic in the journey of nature, these exhibitions have drawn in visitors and crowds worldwide. The gallery itself has won awards for their green approach and green thinking, both in the construction and running of the gallery itself and for its conceptual artworks. Now, as the plight of environmental issues becomes ever louder, the Jackson Foundation team have noticed a more mainstream outlook on their messages, as Gallery Manager Fynn Tucker explains here, “Eyes have been opened due to the pandemic, forcing people to look around their immediate environment, and by extension, beyond that to the wider world: our place in that cycle of supply and demand, and the implications of the decisions we make as individuals and as a society. It’s reassuring that some of the ideas that we as a gallery have always put at the centre of our business model, which only a couple of years ago were seen as fringe, are now almost mainstream. Our fellow Gallery Manager, Zinzi Tucker, has always been on the forefront of sustainability through the business, and has spent an enormous amount of time over the years researching and sourcing plastic free, organic, sustainable solutions, from cleaning products to packaging.”

Part of the Jackson Foundation’s ongoing project is to work with environmentally focused charities, which the Upstairs Gallery section of the building has been dedicated to since opening in 2016. It’s a harmonious match that complements Kurt’s work seamlessly. As an artist inspired continually by the natural world, many of Kurt’s collections explore the relationship between man and nature, both on a personal and wider level. From spending entire seasons trying to capture one tree, to delving into the vast industry of wheat crops, these relationships come to life in Kurt’s captivating artwork, as well as his poetry, sculpture and most recently, two new book releases. Released this year, Biodiversity and Kurt Jackson’s Sea have seen a phenomenal response.

“Kurt’s books have been greeted with an enormous amount of excitement,” says Fynn. “They’ve really struck a chord with a wide audience with newly opened eyes to the natural world and our place in protecting it.”

Biodiversity focuses on the idea that all life on Earth has the same right to thrive as we do. Each is a component in a vast web, and each species is dependent on the next to survive; to remove one creates a domino effect resulting in potential species and habitat loss. With a stunning combination of painting, sculpture, poetry and prose, Kurt illustrates this message throughout the book. His second release, Kurt Jackson’s Sea, is the first hardback book dedicated solely to Kurt’s depictions of the subject that he is most famously associated with.

In the gallery, summer promises an upcoming schedule of equally thoughtprovoking, blockbuster exhibitions, as the team prepare for their big September show, Kurt Jackson’s Kenidjack: A Cornish Valley, which follows the Tregeseal Stream from its source on the moors above St Just, down to the valley and into the sea, taking in the sights, sounds and wildlife along the way.

“We are really looking forward to sharing Kenidjack: A Cornish Valley and can’t wait to get back to putting on previews, charity events, talks, screenings and all the other things we used to include in our calendar,” describes Fynn. “We are so blessed to have such a large, beautiful, airy and versatile space. It has made opening throughout the Covid landscape so much more comfortable for staff and visitors. Since locking down last spring, we’ve been inundated by messages from people telling us how much their visit to the gallery means to them, and how upset they’ve been missing the exhibitions due to travel restrictions, shielding, lack of available accommodation, or being priced out of places they have stayed for decades. It’s been hard on a lot of people…As a result, we’ve made a real effort to share more of our exhibitions through our website, and to make short films about them.”

As the team look ahead in preparation for the next exhibition, there’s still time for those eager to visit to catch the last of their latest show, Wheat: From Plough to Plate, which looks at a staple crop in all its incarnations, from field of crops in breathtaking landscapes all the way through to harvest, milling and finally, the kneading and baking of breads and cakes. All captured in Kurt Jackson’s distinctive style that continues to reinforce why he is one of the country’s most popular and respected contemporary artists. In the Upstairs Gallery, Echoes of a Vanished World offers a fascinating collection of photographs by Robin Hanbury-Tenison, an explorer and co-founder of Survival International. Echoes showcases his photographs of tribal peoples from South America, Africa and the Pacific taken between the 1950’s-1970’s. These images are tender and intimate without condescension and capture people and a time that have been all but lost. Both exhibitions are on display until the 14th August.

Leading the way for green galleries, The Jackson Foundation has set an impressive example to other businesses alike, promoting environmentally conscious practices not just throughout its innovative structure, but also through its artwork. As people continue to push for a greener world, Kurt Jackson continues to send out messages through the medium of art that remind us just how precious and fragile our beautiful natural world can be. l

Signed copies of Biodiversity and Kurt Jackson’s Sea are available online, as well as a wide range of artwork, prints and cards. Discover it all and more at www.jacksonfoundationgallery.com

Jackson Foundation North Row, St Just, Cornwall, TR19 7LB Check online for latest opening hours and updates.

@ Jake Eastham for The Pig at Harlyn Bay

64 BITES 66 DISH OF THE MONTH 68 MEET THE CHEF 70 SUMMER STRAIGHT FROM THE BOTTLE 75 PLACES TO EAT 80 WEEKEND AWAY 82 EXPERIENCE