Ariston Jacks

About the Artist

The visionary artist Ariston Jacks creates a decisive swath through the art world with his multi-disciplinary practice. His work serves as social collage that combines ancient African, European and American social phenomena through 21st century sub-cultures. The early stages of his art practice developed in his hometown of Pine Bluff, AR.  His image conjuring is inspired by the wisdom of the ancestors who came before him. The likes of visual artists such as Hale Woodruff, John Howard, Jeff Donaldson, and Ernest Davidson among others who have lived, and worked in Arkansas. They were all powerful modern masters; working ahead of their time I regard as Futurists; precursors to the emerging movement. Ariston is a student of those who pushed beyond what was into something entirely new, creating a remixed yet futuristic American aesthetic. His artwork actively seeks to answer questions while presenting visual narratives. Jacks’ work indirectly captures messages of resilience and latent magic energies of that spiritual arc creating new sacred, layered, intricate messages for posterity. Jacks’ has traveled extensively to inform his cross-cultural aesthetic. Using painting, printmaking, and photography, he creates images that inform and inspire. His use of cultural icons, sacred geometry, and the mixing of luminescent powder with acrylic paint are where the uniqueness of his artwork rests. Conciliating darkness and light, "alter images" become visible when the work is viewed in darkened environments. Creating their own light Jacks' work illuminates visual data to inform and excite.  His career has spanned more than fine art. After serving six years in the U.S. Navy, he completed a Bachelor's degree from the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where as a Freshman he designed the official sports logo still in use today. Later he earned a Master's degree in studio painting from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Jacks’ has served as University faculty as well as Art Director for the Creative Expressions Program at the Arkansas State Psychiatric Facility. This revolutionary Arkansas State Art Program he co-developed positively impacted the lives of Arkansans by empowering individuals living with mental illness through the visual arts. He has exhibited on a national and even international level and was recently featured at SCAD Museum, Creative Alliance and Gavlak Gallery in Los Angeles. His works are included in numerous, public and private collections including the Mosaic Templar’s Museum, African American Museum of Dallas, Butler Center Collection, Alcatel Lucent Corporation.

Artist's Statement

The images I create express imagined possibilities through use of visual analogies along with personal narratives. In a graphic-style, I employ sacred geometry and complex abstraction infused with illuminated icons from Aboriginal culture. The chronicling of these canonical manifestations capture the present and often depict the future inspired through memories from my ancestral legacy. This visual exploration of life leads to obsessive levels of mark making and expressive techniques developed through personal and material investigation. ...Even in the dark, my paintings unveil truth about our celestial essence, and human experience. +Ariston Jacks