"Snake in the Tacks"

"Still Life as Theater," an exhibition of some 30 paintings, drawings and photographs by noted artist Philip Jackson, will be on view at UNC Asheville's Highsmith University Union Gallery through February 2. A closing reception and artist talk will be held from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2, in the gallery. The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public.

Jackson is a contemporary realist painter whose work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Evansville Museum of Art and the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, both in Indiana. Jackson has been featured in a number of premiere magazines, including Southwest Art, American Artist and Art in America.

He has received numerous awards, including an Individual Artists Grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a research fellowship from the University of Mississippi and an internationally juried fellowship from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation in Canada. Jackson holds a bachelor's degree from the Columbus College of Art & Design and the master's degree from Bowling Green State University. Currently, he is on the faculty at the University of Mississippi.

"Jackson’s paintings celebrate precarious and unpredictable experiences through commonplace objects. Referencing, but moving beyond the concept of ‘still life’ he intentionally places inanimate objects into theatrically charged, animated spaces," said Tracie Pouliot, UNC Asheville's Highsmith University Union Gallery director. "Motivated by his own visual curiosity, Jackson hopes that his paintings will stir the hearts and minds of viewers to pause during their daily routine and experience special moments of wonder."

UNC Asheville's Highsmith University Union Gallery is located on the lower level of the Union. The Gallery is open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-6 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 828/251-6991.