Jackson Owen

Jack is an American artist living and working in London. He studied at Oglethorpe University (2018-2022), the University of Oxford (2022), and the University of Cambridge (2022-2024). He is currently pursuing an MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art, London.

In his work, Jack is primarily interested in issues of construction and built-ness, particularly as they relate to ‘truth’ and space. Through this interest, Jack problematizes how human perception is shaped by the spaces one inhabits. Thus, his subject matter is derived from the spaces that have shaped him and his vernacular, especially the American South, his current space in the UK, and the space of digital simulacra. Here, a particular consideration for Jack is how nostalgia affects perception – a nostalgia concerning one’s own personal history or for a particular historical narrative. With a research background in the history of painting, the matters of historiography, tradition, and myth are also on his mind. Jack’s ambition with his practice is to build space with visual language that rhetorically questions these issues.

“For me, right now, ‘painting’ is a term that stands in for the possibilities of communicating through visual language, and a way to express the sensation of my own lived subjectivity.”

6 questions with Jackson Owen

We ask our emerging artists 6 questions to uncover what drives their work, practice, and creativity.

What themes or questions do you find recurring in your work?

I’m interested in memory, ‘built-ness,’ and the intersection between space and perception.

Can you describe a pivotal moment in your journey as an artist?

Discovering how to reintroduce photographic and print techniques back into my work—as an illusion—this opened up a new way to expand the language of collage in my work.

What materials or processes are most important in your practice - and why?

Using found materials as a surface, and pasting found objects from my local vernacular onto the surface of my work. Using local objects is very important to me, as it inextricably ties what I do to where I am.

How do you want people to feel when they experience your work?

The subjective nature of viewing an art object isn’t something I aim to control. My intentions are to highlight certain ideas or questions and propose them to a viewer to construct their own opinions or ideas.

What does a typical day in your studio look like?

I have a daily practice, so I show up every day and pick up where I left off—or spiral into a new path based on my impulse.

What dreams or hopes do you have for your artistic journey?

To build a meaningful and productive career with the time and opportunities I have, whatever form that may take.