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A conversation with Visiting Artist-in-Residence, Veronica Jackson
At VisArts, we have the privilege of offering a space for folks to gather and create together in Richmond, and through our residency programs, we have the chance to welcome out-of-town artists into this community. Over the past several months, we’ve been proud to host Veronica Jackson, an artist based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Central Virginia.
Since January, Jackson has been working in our printmaking and glass studios to create new artworks to be featured in her solo exhibition, A CONSTELLATION OF BLACKNESS, opening in VisArts’ True F. Luck Gallery on Friday, September 13. The exhibition will feature a series of striking multi-media installations, highlighting the artist’s intersecting explorations with printmaking, typography, and vintage photography. Inspired by Jackson’s lived experience and archival research, these works address notions of invisibility, hypervisibility, devaluation, and triumph experienced by Black women in America. The exhibition is co-curated by the artist and journalist Julia Chance.
As we approach the opening of her exhibition, we caught up with Jackson to reflect on her residency here at VisArts.
Veronica Jackson: I knew Stefanie Fedor, a former Executive Director at VisArts, from the art world in Washington, DC. A few years ago, Stefanie came to one of my shows in Charlottesville where she experienced my artwork. She later invited me to VisArts to discuss my interest in a Visiting Artist Residency, and approximately three years later, here I am and the rest is history.
What was most exciting to you when first arriving at VisArts for your residency?
I was most excited by the various mediums available at VisArts. I have a print background, specifically silk screening and letterpress; however, it was the prospect of learning a new medium—screenprinting on glass—that really piqued my interest then and still does today.
So, this is your first time working with glass. How did you land on this medium?
As a preamble to the residency, VisArts invited me to take any class to acquaint myself with the various studios. I was searching for a new medium in which to present my work, and I saw that Sayaka Suziki’s screenprinting on glass class was only offered once a year. I knew I needed to take advantage of this unique opportunity.
While at VisArts, how has your relationship with screenprinting evolved?
Specifically with screenprinting on glass, my relationship has slowly evolved from fear to acceptance. My first attempts at this new medium produced less than favorable results, yet I overcame the fear of the unknown. I kept working the medium until I “cracked the code” required to create a successful print. During this process I’ve also accepted, embraced, and plan to exhibit mishaps that occurred in the process of firing the artwork, such as two large glass pieces that cracked during firing.
Check out this video of Jackson screenprinting on glass!
Other than providing studio space, what has this experience at VisArts offered for you and your creative practice?
Many mediums in one location, physical access to an urban environment with a thriving art scene, a community of artists making work outside of traditional boundaries, and new friends that stimulate my intellectual curiosity.
What are you hoping folks take away from the new works you’re creating for A CONSTELLATION OF BLACKNESS?
At my core, I am a public historian. One of the foundations of my practice is to educate the public. With this exhibition, I want visitors to see a beautiful array of Black women who they know little to nothing about, to glean their understated power, and be curious enough to learn more about their historic activism that is still relevant today.
Experience these works in Veronica Jackson’s upcoming solo exhibition, A CONSTELLATION OF BLACKNESS, on view at VisArts from September 13 – October 27. Join us for the opening reception on September 13 at 5:30pm, including an artist talk by Jackson at 6pm. Free to the public, no RSVP necessary.
