Judith Jacobson
Judith Jacobson received her BFA in Painting from The Tyler School of Art in 1969, and her MFA in Painting from The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1997. She is the recipient of The Leeway Foundation Edna Andrade Grant in Painting (catalogue), awarded for work that exhibits exceptional promise and talent. Judith’s work was purchased by the founder of The Leeway Foundation and is part of the permanent and prominent collection. Judith also participated in panel discussions with other Leeway grant recipients at the Philadelphia Art Alliance.
She has received numerous awards in Painting and Drawing. Her achievements have been extensive and positively reviewed by the media. Judith has been a visiting artist at local colleges, giving presentations of her art and process, and then making studio visits to critique the work of the students. She has also shared her ideas and work in many “Meet the Artist” discussions. Judith continuously donates her art to charitable organizations.
Judith has been in many solo and group exhibitions. Her work is included in collections in the United States, Canada and Europe.
Awarded Grants
2000
Edna Andrade Award
Related grantees
Overview
At age 46, I quit my job to unconditionally devote the rest of my life to making art. My grasp of "foreverness" on this earth became enlightened, propelling, and pivotal. The implications of being mortal precipitated obsessive scrutiny of disembodied fragments of human deterioration; relentless painting of magnified nuances of physical and psychological states of being reflected in the face.
A significant aspect of my pictures is size: large-larger-HUGE! These fragments are interconnected, the series being integral to my process. The totality of these fragments could assume an animated monumentality. These unsentimentalized, unflattering, disturbing segments of facial decay manifest that which terrifies a society desperately clinging to youth; horrified by the markings of life.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
In a youth crazed society, anxious about the marks of age, I am an aging white menopausal female baby boomer, WHO does not want to be EXTREMELY MADE OVER! I am a marked woman, distinguished by the topographical history of my flesh, maps of the memories of my life.
My work speaks of change, metamorphosis, and transcendence. People age. Through art, universal in its capacity to communicate, I hope to encourage dialogue about the inevitable, gradual evolution that we all must experience if we are fortunate enough to grow older. This visual conversation can elevate our awareness and acceptance of the natural process of transformation, to create an environment that will transcend the superficial, and embrace more dignified values and standards of beauty.