One of the many alluring things about River North’s Zg Gallery is that it is in open view from the outside. As you walk past the gallery on Superior, the paintings attract and intrigue in the space below. The show currently on view is particularly one to intrigue passersby, inviting them in to see work that quite literally fills the eyes. The paintings in Gregory Jacobsen’s Smiles and Piles burst from the walls, his deftness with color and incredible detail asks viewers to linger in front of the paintings, to look at them from across the room, and to look at them up close.
Some particular works such as The Pink Lady and Her Friends and Trophy struck us instantly in the first pass through the show. Jacobsen has created figurative works before but these struck us a bit differently. These figures stand in wooded spaces, reminiscent of Renaissance landscapes with Titian’s The Country Concert coming to mind.
Jacobsen’s work operates within a realm that ponders and honors beauty, nature, the body, and the possibility of the grotesque within these elements. All of his paintings—both large scale or small scale—invite acute investigation from the viewer. In a time where connection and slowing down so often eludes, a Jacobsen show is a sight for sore eyes. A needed balm to the manic and detached reality we often find ourselves in. Instead, we enter another realm that is enthralling, humorous, and wonderfully dizzying.
Fruiting Face and Garbage Face possess the elements of humor and draw a viewer into them, ask them to move in closer to ponder not only the body but its connection to objects of nature and the discarding of these objects. Fruiting Face emerges from the sky-blue background giving the work a color study quality as well as a deep study—even an archive—of shapes. Garbage Face covers the whole of the canvas giving the work a confrontational feel even as it continues the humorous nature in much of Jacobsen’s work.
Many small cat portraits are in the exhibition from a series titled Glamour Cats. Jacobsen asked followers on social media to submit a photo of their cat to possibly become one of these glamorous cats. Pluto is one of these portraits donning lipstick and eye makeup worthy of any great drag queen. The ombre background frames the subject and as always the study and use of color and the staggering use of detail captures each cat’s personality even if in a less realistic way while still remaining figurative.
Syrup Breeze sits in a surreal landscape evoking more Modernist style than the Renaissance nods in The Pink Lady and Her Friends and Trophy. There is a Magritte quality in this piece as the landscape is minimal but lush with color. Son of Man from 1964 comes to mind. Jacobsen muses on anxiety and the body and the beauty that lies there. He acknowledges the less beautiful aspects of the body, acknowledging the grotesque brand of beauty, the warts of us so to speak. The subject in Syrup Breeze comprises shapes and parts that appear bodily but also organic with fluids and tissues. It celebrates the sinewed within all of us, both physically and emotionally. .
Jacobsen’s work is kinetic and diverse, each work delivering a whole new perspective on the body and the anxiety that accompanies us within the 21st century. The work in Smiles and Piles has a range while remaining cohesive, telling the viewer a story of this other world.
This is a must-see show at Zg Gallery, 300 W. Superior St., and it runs through October 25. Gallery hours are Tuesday - Saturday 11am-5:30pm and by appointment.
Photos courtesy of Zg Gallery.
If you found this post interesting, please consider supporting Third Coast Review’s arts and culture coverage by making a donation. Choose the amount that works best for you, and know how much we appreciate your support!
