Caught by the River

Kurt Jackson – The Thames Revisited

14th November 2013

>> Morning Thames between Tadpole Bridge and Chimney. February 2009. (Mixed media on paper 57 x 61 cm)

Morning Thames between Tadpole Bridge and Chimney. February 2009. (Mixed media on paper 57 x 61 cm)

In this exhibition, Jackson continues his study of the Thames, exploring the river from source to sea. The work represents a culmination of several years spent visiting and recording the iconic watercourse, capturing its atmosphere, spirit, and changing moods. Jackson uses a variety of media to realise his subject – painting, sculpture, work on paper, ceramics, jewellery – creating a body of work as versatile as the river he depicts.

Kurt explains, “In 2006 I showed my exhibition ‘The Thames Project’ – the culmination of two or three years spent visiting and following the river. However after this event I felt that the subject had not been exhausted – it could never be – and that I would like to re-work the series. This was to both to re-visit some locations and stretches I already knew but also to explore those places that I never managed to reach before. A few more years has been spent on the Thames revisiting this iconic watercourse to make this new body of work.”

A dusting of snow. Cliveden Reach. November 2010 (mixed media on paper 56 x 61 cm)

A dusting of snow. Cliveden Reach. November 2010
(Mixed media on paper 56 x 61 cm)

“I’ve been up and down the length of the river a fair amount. I’ve rowed on it and swam on it, but mostly I’ve walked beside it – sometimes frantically – in search of that rare combination of the transcendant and the haptic that only the work of a serious artist can achieve. Looking at Kurt Jackson’s canvases, which manage this feat so triumphantly for the Thames, it occurs to me that I might as well have stayed at home, waiting for them to come into being.” Will Self, 2013

‘The Thames Revisited’ runs 19th November 2013 – 23rd January 2014 at The Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork Street, London