Frieze Masters Spotlight: Jess
Frieze Masters Spotlight: Jess
Anglim Gilbert Gallery is pleased to present works by San Francisco artist Jess (1923-2004) as part of the Spotlight Series for Frieze Masters, London.
Before pursuing his artistic career, Jess Collins (known simply as "Jess" having dropped his family name after the second World War) was trained as a scientist. In 1943 he was drafted into the army where he was assigned to the Manhattan Project, to develop plutonium for the atomic bomb which, over time, weighed heavily on his conscience. His eventual awakening to this dangerous direction of scientific research led him to leave such activity and devote his energies to art.
Already drawing and keenly engrossed in literature, particularly James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, he finished his degree in Chemistry at Caltech in 1948 before moving to San Francisco to study under Clyfford Still, David Park and other painters of the California School of Fine Arts. Jess' personal re-invention brought with it a fresh, unconventional approach to the artist's practice and as a result his engagement brought with it a fresh, almost visionary approach; painting, drawing, sculpture and collage each took on untraditional hybrid formats.
Jess met poet Robert Duncan in 1950 who was his companion until Duncan's death in 1988. Together, a very personal, collaborative mythology in poetry and images ensued (combining a synthesis of Greco-Roman tradition and fairytale fantasies they both favored.) Alongside the influence of Duncan, Jess' works interwove themes of social and political critique, mythology and the occult, and male eroticism.
The cult painter and collagist was at the center of artistic and poetic ferment in the post-war "Beat" years. Other American artists of the Western vanguard like Wallace Berman, Bruce Conner, George Herms and Ed Kienholz were inspired by Jess' enigmatic fantasies. His very personal iconography and his links to poetry, mythology and a growing West-Coast counter-culture provide an unusual and intimate viewing experience. This solo panorama allows viewers to see paintings and ink drawings, paper collages and (hand-made) crayon drawings; unique products of a small alternative culture in embryo.
Jess worked in a number of techniques, each represented in this Frieze presentation. His early 'Romantic Paintings' of the 1950s involved a dark palette in mood and symbolism of poetic themes. His series of 32 "Translations" (conceived 1959 - 1971) used found imagery the artist would then translate into paint, using heavy impasto in a stylized palette. Jess' first "Translation" in the series will be featured in the booth as well as four drawings used in his master work of drawing and collage, Narkissos (1976-1991 collection SFMOMA.) Considered Jess' most significant work, Narkissos was recently featured in the exhibition "Narcissus Reflected" in Edinburgh at Fruitmarket Gallery 2011.
This presentation of Jess' work is a collaboration with the Jess Collins Trust, Berkeley, California and Tibor De Nagy Gallery, New York, NY.
October 14th - 18th, 2015
Regent’s Park, London