WorkSpace 04: Matthew Day Jackson

Raised on the West Coast and currently living and working in Brooklyn, New York, Matthew Day Jackson makes highly idiosyncratic objects and installations that combine natural, hand-crafted, and recycled materials with imagery and allusions that inspire wonder and surprise. Absorbed by legends of history and folklore, personal transformation through spiritual rites, the idealism of avant-garde aesthetics, and their possible conceptual intersections, Jackson mixes a heady and visceral blend that addresses the romanticization of America’s past and environmental and political crises of the present moment. For the Blanton, he will create an installation featuring a suite of large and medium–scaled sculptures and photo-based works created in 2006 and 2007. Jackson has received critical acclaim for his works in the influential group exhibitions, Greater New York, 2005, PS1 Contemporary Art Center and the 2006 Whitney Biennial, Day for Night.