CLEEK GOLD

SEPTEMBER 1 – OCTOBER 1

Midway Gallery presents CLEEK GOLD, an installation of monumental wall paintings by Jessica Tam. Employing an experimental, multi-step process, Tam transforms imagery back and forth between figuration and abstraction, exploring compression and expansion, cartoon-like gesture and expressive brushwork.  The exhibition is made possible with the generous support of the Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists, administered by the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, and the support of Clowes Fund Fellowship and the Vermont Studio Center. The exhibition will be on view from September 1 through October 1, with an opening reception on September 8 from 5–8 pm.

The artist compares her practice to taking imagery from pop culture, contemporary sport, and art history and putting them together in a blender. Inspired by the historic Italian fresco The Fall of the Giants from Mount Olympus, Tam’s large-scale work envelops the viewer in gestural painterly language, formal drama, and abstract narrative. CLEEK GOLD is the final exhibition in Triptych, Tam’s series of three site-specific contemporary frescoes, which share a lineage of ink and imagery. The first, LEGLOCKED, served as the foundation to create the second, titled DECKLE LOG. Tam then cut up and collaged DECKLE LOG to imagine CLEEK GOLD. The titles are anagrams of each other, reflecting the project’s playful nature.

Born in Sacramento, CA, Tam exhibited in New York City at Schroeder Romero, the Painting Center, and Slag Gallery, and in Chicago, IL at LG Space. She won an NEA Fellowship and was the Al Held Affiliated Fellow at the American Academy in Rome. Recent exhibitions of the site-specific paintings

include The Seerveld Gallery at Trinity Christian College, Chicago, IL, and The Box at Knox College, Galesburg, IL. Tam holds a BA from Dartmouth College, a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. She won the 2016/17 Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists, juried by independent curator Laura Knott. Administered annually by the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, the fellowship fosters artists’ career development through mentorship and the production of a solo exhibition. The fellowship is endowed by celebrated abstract expressionist artist Walter Feldman (1925-2017), with the goal of supporting emerging artists through opportunities for professional recognition and growth. Tam has dedicated the CLEEK GOLD exhibition to Walter Feldman.