Patrick Jackson: DUM MUD
François Ghebaly presents DUM MUD, an exhibition of new sculptures by artist Patrick Jackson installed in his one-bedroom apartment.
With dark wood paneling and red carpeting (details original to the space), Jackson’s apartment looks like a film set of a 1970’s home. He has covered the windows with frosted orange vellum, creating a daylong Technicolor sunset. Two new bodies of work are installed in Jackson’s apartment: plaster wall reliefs and ceramic shoes.
The reliefs were originally sculpted in a shallow 20 x 15 inch wooden box using a soft clay. Jackson created molds and produced the final casts in white plaster, which are installed on the walls of his kitchen, living room and bedroom. The reliefs are part of an ongoing series, first started in 2016. The imagery from Jackson’s past wall reliefs was sourced from his sketchbooks, but these new reliefs were improvised with no reference material; Jackson sculpted whatever came to mind. His imagery includes bodies, bricks, folds, coverings and openings.
The ceramic works are made with shoes in mind, but each varies in its resemblance to a shoe. Some look like hooves, others volcano science projects and all are cartoonish and oversized. These pieces start with ceramic and glaze, but all manner of craft store shlock is also applied: spray paint, epoxy, seashells, rocks, fabric, pencils, plastic plants, etc. They are presented in a mirrored display, built into Jackson’s bedroom closet.
Jackson’s living space has often figured into his work. In 2012, he installed House of Double in a vacant two-bedroom apartment in his housing complex. That show was constructed around two nearly identical copies of Jackson, each lying in a separate bedroom. In 2014, Jackson presented The Third Floor at Ghebaly Gallery’s former Culver City space. Presenting an outline of a basement, living room and attic, this was home as tiered psychological space.
With DUM MUD, Jackson focuses on recurring dreams that take place at home. For years, “home” in his dreams was either his childhood or grandparent’s house, but now his apartment has become one of the three possibilities. Perhaps it’s the time he has spent in these places, or maybe it’s their shared 1970’s aesthetic. Whatever it is that connects these homes, the same phenomena happen within: hidden rooms are discovered, excavations lead to caves burrowing below, dead family members live in childlike and disabled states.
DUM MUD is the ectoplasm of dreams, the material that makes up the show.
Patrick Jackson (b. 1978, Los Angeles) studied at San Francisco Art Institute (BFA) and the University of Southern California (MFA). He has exhibited internationally at galleries and institutions including The Wattis Institute, San Francisco (solo, 2017); Ghebaly Gallery, Los Angeles (solo, 2013, 2016); Galerie Vallois, Paris (solo, 2015); C L E A R I N G, New York (2014); The Banff Center, Canada (2014); Gavin Brown’s enterprise, New York (2013); Richard Telles, Los Angeles (2012); Nicole Klagsbrun, New York (solo, 2010); CAPC Musée d’Art Contemporain, Bordeaux (2010); The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles (2009); and The Soap Factory, Minneapolis (2002). This summer, Patrick Jackson will present his Wattis Institute installation KNOW YER CITY at Kristina Kite Gallery, Los Angeles, as part of a group exhibition curated by artist Nancy Lupo.
