You’ve never seen Yellowstone National Park the way Matthew Day Jackson pictures it in otherworldly new hybrid collages of laser cut metal, wood and plastic at Pace Gallery. Though the title of this piece, ‘Geyser (after Moran),’ alludes to Thomas Moran’s 19th century watercolor paintings of an erupting spout, Jackson’s version adds multiple, huge planets in the background while emphasizing the desolation of the landscape – even the trees lean away from the explosive force of a rigid plume of escaping water and steam. Gallery visitors will notice an earthy smell in the air – the artist commissioned ArtOlifaction Lab to create an olfactory experience, asking the scent-makers to imagine that they were aliens who returned home to recreate the sights and smells of the planet. Through the absence of humans, nebula-like swirls in the sky and toxic colors on land, Jackson posits a post-apocalyptic sci-fi scenario that both entrances and horrifies. (On view through July 1st in Chelsea).
Matthew Day Jackson, Geyser (after Moran), wood, acrylic paint, urethane plastic, fiberglass, UV pigment, lead, stainless steel frame, 81 ¼ x 57 ¼ x 2 inches, 2023.
Merrily Kerr is an art critic and writer based in New York. For more than 20 years, Merrily has published in international art magazines including Time Out New York, Art on Paper, Flash Art, Art Asia Pacific, Art Review, and Tema Celeste in addition to writing catalogue essays and guest lecturing. Merrily teaches art appreciation at Marymount Manhattan College and has taught for Cooper Union Continuing Education.
For more than a decade Merrily has crafted personalized tours of cultural discovery in New York's galleries and museums for individuals and groups, including corporate tours, collectors, artists, advertising agencies, and student groups from Texas Woman's University, Parsons School of Design, Chicago's Moody Institute, Cooper Union Continuing Education, Hunter College Continuing Education and other institutions. Merrily's tours have been featured in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Sydney Morning Herald and Philadelphia Magazine.
Merrily is licensed by New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs as a tour guide and is a member of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA USA)
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