Jo Jackson is an artist from Portland, Oregon who creates striking canvases that subvert classic American graphic norms. Her paintings are charged with signs and shapes, rendered in pastel colors in high contrast juxtapositions that seem almost as if they were applied with vinyl rather than a brush. Eagles, skulls, wolves, a map of North America and people are layered ironically, subverting typical graphic imagery into a twisted miasma of something that is at once cute and incredibly dark. She re-works classic Americana symbology into soft colors that reveal their true political essence. Although her work most definitely has its roots in the streets, what she executes on canvas is far from raw (She cites the French Situationists and Josef Albers as inspirations). Jackson’s aesthetic employs symbols of psychological and social chagrin, creating a form of sly protest, the secret of which is approachability. Jo Jackson has exhibited her work widely throughout the western United States and recently completed solo exhibitions in Los Angeles and Switzerland.
