About the arwork
Jessica Jackson Hutchins
Left to right: Totems, 19 Years Old, and Woman Be Free, 2017
Dimensions(h x w x d): 48" x 24", 58" x 24", 48" x 24"
Fused glass
Located in Fariborz Maseeh Hall, third floor study lounge
Totems, 19 Years Old and Woman Be Free were made in residence at Bullseye Glass in Portland. They mark a recent material expansion by Jessica Jackson Hutchins into glass, following her site-specific leaded glass work for the 2016 Portland Biennial in Pendleton, Oregon. Inspired by protest signs, song lyrics, and other symbols of resistance, they also follow the artist’s activist aesthetics. Says Hutchins, “I found myself working in this beautiful new medium at the time when the political climate in the United States was beginning to change drastically. I believe it is part of my job to be able to expose a raw nerve to whatever our culture is suffering through and let all that into the work … The sensory extravagance (the gorgeousness!) of colored light was as overwhelming as the political upheavals and injustices.”
About the artist
Born in Chicago and based in Portland, Jessica Jackson Hutchins is an internationally exhibited multimedia artist who creates assemblage art from found objects, embracing the potential of beauty in discarded materials and undervalued forms. Her recent work incorporates light and color, elevating media associated with craft, such as glass and ceramic, to the arena of high art. Three other examples of her recent glass work can be found in Fariborz Maseeh Hall.
See more of Hutchins's work on the Marianne Boesky Gallery website.
This work was acquired through Oregon's Percent for Art in Public Places Program, managed by the Oregon Arts Commission.
Banner image: Photo by Evan La Londe.