ART

An exhibition of intensely-hued, gestural paintings by Jo Jackson, Evocations, occupy the Caldwell Gallery in the County Government Center (Redwood City) from Sept. 1 through Oct. 30. While suggesting natural forms and processes, Jackson’s large paintings on canvas move seamlessly from abstract shapes and suggestions of calligraphy to evocations of water, land masses, rock formations and cracks, and veiled portals suffused with light.

Jackson explains, "I endeavor to create visual events that feel mysteriously known or remembered, but not yet encountered. For years I have been drawn to visual similarities between natural phenomena – a crack, a drip, a nerve, a blood vessel, a bolt of lightning or a trail of light – and human marks and communication systems such as Asian calligraphy", according to Jackson. "A uniform surface cracks to reveal an unexpectedly complex interior. A night sky full of latent energy is cleft suddenly by a bolt of lightning, and the landscape is seen anew."

Jackson followed her BS in Graphic Design from San Jose State University with an MFA (Studio Arts) from John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, which she completed in 2005. In addition to solo and group exhibitions at JFK University, Jackson has exhibited in the 1870 Art Center Gallery in Belmont in 2005, and XYZ Graphics Grand Opening (by invitation) in San Francisco in 2004.