Roxanne Jackson
INSIDERS
© Roxanne Jackson, Emily McElwreath, The Art Career.
Roxanne Jackson is dead serious about making fun work. From lustrous large- scale dragons that appear to weave in and out of the ground to beheaded animal cornucopias of guts and finger foods, her sculptures are a feast for the eyes that provoke a battle between attraction and repulsion. Delectable- looking cakes, tropical birds, tree stumps, witches’ garments, and vases adorned with snakes or botanical speci- mens are just some of the other sculptural elements in her ceramic arsenal. Jackson often stacks these items into topsy-turvy towers to perform a specific function: hold a single, spindly candlestick. The object’s utility is almost an afterthought to the highly embellished sculptural body adorned with layers of extreme glaze, luster, and decals: a stepladder might be necessary to light the flame atop these absurd monoliths.
Disinterested in what is comfortable or beautiful, Jackson subverts the expectations of utility and practicality for not only a candleholder but also other recognizable domestic components, such as vases and cake platters. Each of her pieces is a cabinet of curiosities of flora, fauna, and fantasy that rejects standards of domesticity and femininity.
B. Hayward, CA
Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, and Wassaic, NY
SP1623
Roxanne Jackson, Blood Moon (Candlestick), 2024, Ceramic, glaze, underglaze, luster, steel, and candle. Courtesy of the artist.
SP1624
Roxanne Jackson, Rainbow in the Dark Candlestick, 2023, Ceramic, glaze, underglaze, luster, steel, and candle. Courtesy of the artist.