Matthew Day Jackson’s diverse practice encompasses sculpture, painting, collage, photography, drawing, video, performance, furniture design, and installation art. The concept of connectivity is at the core of Jackson’s work. He investigates a wide range of philosophical, scientific, and historical themes that he interweaves with his personal narrative.
Jackson's practice employs intensive research and production processes to create objects that coincide with a reassembling of history. Lead, Formica, epoxy and bronze, as well as geodesic structures and found objects are used in works that are equally intricate and monumental.
Jackson views the combination of materials and references to disparate time periods as a metaphor for interconnectivity. His use of materials reflects the idea that our evolution is not only found within the slow adaptation of our bodies, but it is, “also present in the materials we use to express our humanity over time, the evolving process of the creation of society, and the performance of culture.” Those who have shaped the cultural, social and political landscape in the United States, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Buckminster Fuller, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and others, have been influential in the iconogaphic and conceptual basis for Jackson’s work. Accordingly, events that influenced the mythology of American exceptionalism—the Apollo 11 moon landing, development of the American West, and the dropping of the atomic bomb—are rendered to imagine alternate outcomes and suggest the inherent falsehoods contained within such a mythology.
Through referencing the cannon of art history, many of Jackson's works also examine the projection of human desires onto nature. For example in Archimboldo, Still Life with Flowers and Reclining Nude series Jackson investigates how artists have propagated mythologies of beauty throughout history. The still lifes — drawn from paintings made in the 17th century by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Younger, and Archimboldo portraits, are remade almost entirely from artificial materials such as Formica— whereas the reclining nudes or odalisque works are made from scorched and dismantled found tree trunks. For Jackson, the measurable and the inexplicable, power and sacrifice, mortality and the infinite are all part of a realm he has dubbed ‘the Horriful’, where everything we do has the potential to create both horror and beauty.
Matthew Day Jackson (b. 1974 in Panorama City, CA, US) lives and works in Brooklyn, NY (US). He received his BFA at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA (US), and his MFA at the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ (US). He has also studied at NHRA Supercomp Dragster License, Frank Hawleys Racing School in Gainesville, FL (US) and Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Skowhegan, ME (US). Jackson’s work is included in many private and public collections such as the Astrup-Fearnley Museum, Oslo (NO); Whitney Museum for American Art, New York, NY (US); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (NL); François Pinault Collection, Paris (FR); Museo d’Arte Moderna, Bologna (IT); Zabludowicz Collection, London (UK); Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX (US); Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL) and High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (US); Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, Rotterdam (NL) and Qiao Zhibing Collection, Shanghai (CN).
Jackson’s recent solo exhibitions include: Waterfalls and Birds, Guesthouse, Wilson, WY (US); Matthew Day Jackson Flowers, Windows and Thistles, Hauser & Wirth, Zurich (CH); Audubon in the Anthropocene: Works by Matthew Day Jackson, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS (US); Maa, Gösta Serlachius Museum, Mänttä (FI); Pareidolia, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Van Gogh Inspires Matthew Day Jackson, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (NL); Pathetic Fallacy, Hauser & Wirth, Somerset (UK); New Landscape, Qiao Space, Shanghai (CN); Still Life and the Reclining Nude, Hauser & Wirth, London (UK); Gunshot Plywood Bronze Works, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); Core and Strip, GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL); There Will Come Soft Rains, Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta, GA (US). Additional solo exhibitions have been held at Hauser & Wirth, Zurich (CH) and New York, NY (US); ZKM Museum, Karlsruhe (DE); GEM, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hague (NL); MAMbo Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (IT); Kunstmuseum, Lucerne (CH); MIT List Visual Art Center, Cambridge, MA (US) and at the Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, TX (US).
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Matthew Day Jackson
15 Sep - 21 Oct 2023 GRIMM Keizersgracht 241, Amsterdam (NL) -
The Moon and I
Organized by Michael Plunkett 13 Jul - 11 Aug 2023 GRIMM 54 White St, New York, NY (US) -
54 White Street | Inaugural exhibition
GRIMM's new gallery in Tribeca 20 Mar - 17 Apr 2021 GRIMM 54 White St, New York, NY (US)Join us in March 2021 for the grand opening of GRIMM's new space in Tribeca at 54 White Street. For more further information, please email info@grimmgallery.comRead more -
Matthew Day Jackson
Pareidolia 10 Oct - 17 Nov 2019 GRIMM Keizersgracht 241, Amsterdam (NL) -
Away in the Hill
Group Exhibition 27 Jun - 2 Aug 2019 GRIMM 202 Bowery, New York, NY (US) -
Matthew Day Jackson & Philippe Vandenberg
Nieuw Amsterdams Peil 23 Jun - 28 Jul 2018 GRIMM Keizersgracht 241, Amsterdam (NL) -
Pop-up GRIMM Brussels
Group Exhibition 18 Apr - 5 May 2018 Ravensteinstraat 44, Brussels (BE), Other locations -
Community Board
Group Exhibition 24 Nov 2017 - 20 Jan 2018 Frans Halsstraat 26, Amsterdam (NL), Other locations -
Matthew Day Jackson
Gunshot Plywood Bronze Works 9 Sep - 13 Oct 2017 GRIMM Keizersgracht 241, Amsterdam (NL) -
Matthew Day Jackson
Core and Strip 11 Apr - 30 May 2015 Frans Halsstraat 26, Amsterdam (NL), Other locations -
Huidige Zaken
Group Exhibition 5 Jun - 1 Oct 2014 Frans Halsstraat 26, Amsterdam (NL), Other locations -
Trieste
Group Exhibition 1 Feb - 15 Mar 2014 Frans Halsstraat 26, Amsterdam (NL), Other locations -
Matthew Day Jackson
Heel Gezellig 6 Oct - 20 Nov 2011 Frans Halsstraat 26, Amsterdam (NL), Other locations -
Heel Gezellig
Group Exhibition organised by Matthew Day Jackson 6 Oct - 20 Nov 2011 Keizersgracht 82, Other locations -
New Paintings
Group Exhibition 16 Jan - 6 Mar 2010 Keizersgracht 82, Other locations -
Matthew Day Jackson
Dynamic Maximum Tension 10 Oct - 21 Nov 2009 Keizersgracht 82, Other locations
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Zürich Art Weekend Has Always Thrived From Its Proximity to Art Basel.
Naomi Rea, Artnet News , September 10, 2020 -
Matthew Day Jackson
Bill Arning, Flash Art, January 1, 2020 -
Art to hold humanity to account
Simon Ings, TLS, August 1, 2019 -
Veracht den burgerman, doch ledig zijne kruiken: Nieuw Amsterdams Peil 2018
Ton Kruse, Metropolis M, June 27, 2019 -
Matthew Day Jackson creates Kolho furniture using moon-inspired Formica
Ali Morris, Dezeen, April 10, 2019 -
Living Artists & Old Masters: Matthew Day Jackson
Skye Sherwin, Vanity Fair, October 4, 2018 -
INTO NATURE: OUT OF DARKNESS
Robin Barry, Mister Motley, August 19, 2018 -
Eigenlijk is het Drentse Frederiksoord al een kunstwerk op zich (in Dutch)
Anouk Boone, Trouw, August 10, 2018 -
Into Nature: 30 kilometer lange kunstroute langs natuur en cultuur (in Dutch)
Anna van Leeuwen, de Volkskrant, August 9, 2018 -
De boktor knaagt, de kunst bloeit (in Dutch)
Joyce Roodnat, NRC, July 18, 2018 -
Sculptuur en natuur verstrengeld (in Dutch)
Kester Freriks, NRC, July 5, 2018 -
Sculptuur is natuur in Drenthe (in Dutch)
Kester Freriks, NRC, July 5, 2018 -
Echte Van Goghs, alleen net een beetje anders
Edine Wijnands, BN De Stem, June 1, 2018 -
GRIMM Gallery presents the politically charged exhibition 'Community Board'
Artdaily, January 1, 2018 -
Community Board
Wall Street International, December 8, 2017 -
COMMUNITY BOARD
Art Bahrain, November 26, 2017 -
At Cornell Tech, Art Engineered for the Imagination
Hilarie M. Sheets, New York Times, September 13, 2017 -
Total Eclipse of the Art: Matthew Day Jackson Organized a Celestial-Themed Exhibition in Wyoming
Caroline Goldstein, Artnet news, August 21, 2017 -
Hauser & Wirth Will Screen Films on Its Roof in Chelsea This Summer
Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews, May 18, 2017 -
KHOL Interviews Artist Matthew Day Jackson
Jackson Hole Community Radio, August 8, 2016 -
Kunstverzamelaar schenkt ‘The Tomb’ aan Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (in Dutch)
Yannick Verberckmoes, De Volkskrant, December 15, 2015 -
Van privé naar publiek
Anne Berk, Financieel Dagblad, December 5, 2015 -
Reviews: Matthew Day Jackson
Jeffrey Kastner, Artforum, November 1, 2013 -
Ati Maier and Matthew Day Jackson
BOMB, October 31, 2013 -
Ati Maier and Matthew Day Jackson
BOMB, October 31, 2013 -
Matthew Day Jackson, Something Ancient, Something New, Something Stolen, Something Blue
Alexander Shulan, The Brooklyn Rail, October 3, 2013 -
The Artist With the Race Car in His Studio
Mark Healy, T Magazine, September 13, 2013 -
Matthew Day Jackson's Milestones
Allyson Shiffman, Interview, September 10, 2013 -
Matthew Day Jackson's New Paintings and Sculpture at Hauser & Wirth Gallery
Samuel Cochran, Architectural Digest, August 31, 2013 -
Matthew Day Jackson at MIT, 2009
Arts in MIT, February 14, 2012 -
Matthew Day Jackson with Charles Schultz
Charles Schultz, The Brooklyn Rail, July 11, 2011 -
Matthew Day Jackson
Ara H. Merjian, Art in America, May 27, 2011 -
Artists on the Verge of a Breakthrough
Karen Rosenberg, New York Magazine, May 1, 2011 -
Matthew Day Jackson
Graham T. Beck, Frieze, November 1, 2010 -
Matthew Day Jackson: Artist as Stuntman
Dorothy Spears, The HuffPost, October 18, 2010 -
Matthew Day Jackson
Marta Gnyp, Zoo Magazine, Issue 28, August 1, 2010 -
Matthew Day Jackson: Mens et manus
Bill Arning, Flash Art, January 1, 2010 -
Matthew Day Jackson
Lauren Ross, Museo, October 1, 2009
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Dynamic Maximum Tension
Matthew Day Jackson Authors: Dominic van den Boogerd, Matthew Day Jackson, Tom Morton
Design: AnyTime, 2010Hardcover, 80 pagesRead more
Publisher: GRIMM, Amsterdam (NL)
ISBN: 9081313738
Dimensions: 330 x 240 mm | 13 x 9.5 in -
in Search of...
Matthew Day Jackson Texts by: Gianfranco Maraniello, Martin J. Sherwin, Steve Pulimood
Design: Eleonora Concetti, 2011Hardcover, 264 pagesRead more
Publisher: Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna (IT)
ISBN: 8896296072
Dimensions: 24.5 x 17.5 cm | 9 5/8 x 6 7/8 in -
The Immeasurable Distance
Matthew Day Jackson Authors: Bill Arning, Deborah Douglas, David Mindell, Tom Morton, David Tompkins
Design: Peter J. Ahlberg, 2010Hardcover, 100 pagesRead more
Publisher: MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, MA (US) | CAM Houston, TX (US)
Dimensions: 31 x 22 cm | 12 1/4 x 8 5/8 in -
Total Accomplishment
Matthew Day Jackson Essays by Jean Baudrillard, Andreas Beitin, Mick Broderick and others, 2014Hardcover, 424 pagesRead more
Publisher: DISTANZ, Berlin (DE)
ISBN: 3954760584
Dimensions: 300 x 235 mm | 11.8 x 9.3 in
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COUNTRY, RPG, Matthew Day Jackson
A table role-playing game designed by artist Matthew Day Jackson that moves in a post-apocalyptic world May 1, 2019Maa is a roleplaying game that leads the player into the world of the art of the American Matthew Day Jackson. The game takes place...Read more -
Matthew Day Jackson’s first exhibition in Finland, “Maa” at Serlachius Museum Gösta
Matthew Day Jackson May 1, 2019Matthew Day Jackson’s (b. 1974) exhibition Maa at the Serlachius Museum Gösta in Mänttä, and a role-playing game by the same name, imagine a post-apocalyptic...Read more -
Lecture: Matthew Day Jackson on Nancy Holt at Dia:Chelsea
Matthew Day Jackson March 1, 2019Tuesday, March 19, 2019, 6:30 pm Dia:Chelsea 535 West 22nd Street, 5th Floor New York City Matthew Day Jackson was born in Panorama City, California,...Read more -
Matthew Day Jackson – Solo exhibition “Pathetic Fallacy” at Hauser & Wirth Somerset
Matthew Day Jackson January 19, 2019 Read more -
Matthew Day Jackson artist-in-residence at Hauser & Wirth Somerset
Matthew Day Jackson September 1, 2018Hauser & Wirth Somerset is delighted to welcome Matthew Day Jackson as artist-in-residence this Autumn. Jackson is an American artist whose multifaceted practice encompasses sculpture,...Read more -
Matthew Day Jackson in group exhibition “Into Nature” at Frederiksoord, Drenthe (NL)
Matthew Day Jackson July 1, 2018 Read more -
Matthew Day Jackson, Still Life and the Reclining Nude, Hauser & Wirth, London
February 26, 2018