Tomashi Jackson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tomashi Jackson
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Jackson speaks in 2024
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| Born | 1980 (age 44–45) Houston, TX
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| Education | Yale School of Art
MIT School of Architecture and Planning Cooper Union |
Tomashi Jackson (born 1980) is an American artist who creates amazing art using many different things. She uses painting, videos, fabrics, and sculpture to make her art. Tomashi was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Los Angeles. Today, she lives and works in New York, NY and Cambridge, MA. Her art has been shown in important places like the Whitney Biennial in 2019. She also teaches sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design. In 2004, she created a huge mural called Evolution of a Community in Los Angeles.
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What is Tomashi Jackson's Art About?
Tomashi Jackson's art explores how art and important social issues are connected. She often looks at past events and links them to how art is made today.
How Does She Use Color?
Tomashi's art uses many different materials and bright colors. She was inspired by an artist named Josef Albers, who studied how colors look different next to each other. Tomashi learned about Albers' color ideas while studying art at Yale University.
She noticed that the way Albers talked about colors was similar to how people talked about racial segregation. This was a time when people were kept apart because of their race. She also saw links to court cases fought by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund to end segregation.
This made Tomashi use color theory in her art to explore history and the present. She says, "Color theory and human rights are connected in my paintings." She uses colors to talk about racism, not to define different races.
Connecting Art and Justice
Tomashi's art often combines geometric shapes with ideas about unfairness. She uses images from photos and other materials to show how art can bridge these gaps.
She is also interested in how people move from one place to another, especially when people of color are stopped from moving freely. For example, in her 2019 Whitney Biennial project, she compared people losing their homes in the 1800s (when Seneca Village was removed for Central Park) to people in Brooklyn recently losing their homes due to a housing policy.
Her work was also part of a traveling art show in 2019 called Young, Gifted, and Black. This show featured art from the Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection.
Tomashi Jackson's Education
Tomashi Jackson studied art at several top schools:
- She earned her first art degree (BFA) from Cooper Union in 2010.
- She received a master's degree (MS) from the MIT School of Architecture and Planning in 2012.
- She earned another master's degree (MFA) in Painting and Printmaking from the Yale School of Art in 2016.
Teaching and Sharing Art
Tomashi Jackson has shared her knowledge by teaching and giving talks at many universities and art schools. Some of these include:
- Cooper Union
- Massachusetts College of Art and Design
- Rhode Island School of Design
- Boston University
- New York University
Art Shows and Exhibitions
Tomashi Jackson's art has been shown in many places around the world.
Solo Exhibitions
These are shows where only her art is displayed:
- 2014 - Love Economy, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
- 2016 - The Subliminal Is Now, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
- 2018 - Interstate Love Song, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, GA
- 2019 - Time Out of Mind, Tilton Gallery, New York, NY
- 2020 - Forever My Lady, Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2020 – Love Rollercoaster, The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
- 2022 – SLOW JAMZ, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY
- 2024 - Tomashi Jackson: Across the Universe, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, PA
Group Exhibitions
These are shows where her art is displayed alongside other artists' work:
- 2012 - Brucennial, MoMA PS1
- 2016 - Black Women Artists for Black Lives Matter, New Museum
- 2017 - In the Abstract, Mass MoCA
- 2019 - Whitney Biennial, curated by Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta
- 2020 - Slowed and Throwed, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston
- Her work has also been shown at Art Basel Miami Beach in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.
