Above the Fruited Plain, 2021, Oil on Belgian linen, 18 x 20 inches (courtesy of Arthur Roger Gallery)
New Orleans-based artist Jacqueline Bishop is returning to St. Joseph for a solo exhibition at the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art. The Central High School graduate, who last exhibited at the museum in 2002, explores the connections between nature, environmental destruction, and the power of landscape painting as a record in Above the Fruited Plain. This exhibition of recent paintings and prints continues her explorations of landscapes as tools of politics, communication, and physiological connection that are in major museum collections, including The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, New Orleans Museum of Art, and Detroit Institute of Arts.
The winding of tree branches and roots with vines and flowers fill Bishop’s compositions. The density of the flora and fauna reflect the biodiversity of both rainforests and Southern swamplands that are so important in her work. These landscapes visually suggest the spirit of Magical Realism to emphasize connection in the natural world and looming the human menace. In the painting A Quiet Island a swan at first appears to be just a bird entwined in vines and roses, but upon closer inspection, she and her nest are being snared by charger chords connected to cell phones. The red background that frames her body has an ominous, threatening quality that continues in many of the paintings in this exhibition. The heavy use of alizarin crimson, a pigment used by artists and dyers for thousands of years, is meant to invoke methane, dangerous algae blooms, and blood. As AKMA Director Eric Fuson describes, “Jacqueline combines her deep understanding of the underlying elements of art with her passionate feelings about global issues to create evocative works. Experiencing these complex compositions first-hand draws you in visually to discover this context.”
Bishop’s interest in the rainforest and concern for deforestation began in 1975 in the Dominican Republic. Between 1992 and 2006 she spent time in Central America, South America, and Southeast Asia observing and documenting the destruction of rainforests. An important project from this time was Chico Mendes: Em Memoria: A Tribute on the 10-Year Anniversary of His Death (Lavender Ink, 1998), a collection of paintings and testimonials about the life and work of a Brazilian rubber tapper and environmentalist slain in 1988 by wealthy cattle ranchers.
The focus on damage to these fragile ecosystems is echoed in her experiences in her home in Louisiana. After receiving her BA from the University of New Orleans and MFA from Tulane University, Bishop has spent the last 50 years in New Orleans. The decades of damage caused by coastal erosion, Hurricane Katrina, and Gulf Coast oil spills are manifested in her work. The complicated history of human interaction with the land is also echoed in a series of paintings on vintage cotton dresses. These dresses are meant to connect her landscape imagery to the memory of forced labor that produced the cotton. Bishop writes, “These ‘world landscapes’ are metaphors for the link between human and nonhumans.”
Above the Fruited Plain will be on exhibit from August 16 through November 2. More information about this exhibition and related programming can be found at albrecht-kemper.org.
Financial assistance provided by the St. Joseph, Missouri Visitors Bureau and the Missouri Arts Council.
