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PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
Friday, June 23, 2000

By Edward J. Sozanski, INQUIRER ART CRITIC

Flag Changes
Judging by his paintings, Gregory Jackson-Collins thinks the United States is paradise on earth. That’s not an unusual view, but it’s unexpected coming from an African American born 41 years ago in Mississippi.

But Jackson-Collins, a self-taught artist, has seen something of the world. Living in Europe for a few years, particularly in Paris, broadened his perspective on life, to the point where he uses the American flag as a symbol of hope and brotherhood.

Jackson-Collins’ exhibition at Artjaz Gallery contains a number of flag images, all of them manipulated in some way. He has overpainted several flags with drippy gestures, which make on think, Oh, Jackson Pollock meets Jasper Johns.

The effect is appealing on a strictly visual level, but it’s also symbolic. The artist intends that his varicolored flags should convey the melting-pot character of American society.

Theodore’s Dream transforms the Stars and Stripes into a landscape with a glowing sunset. The Theodore of the title is Teddy Roosevelt, a president who loved open spaces. Hope Eternal puts a couple in the star field, where they dream of good times to come.

Jackson-Collins’ image of the Statue of Liberty is a close-up portrait in vigorous swashes of red, white and blue that would make anyone proud to be American. It should be a postage stamp.

Other paintings in the show are gestural abstractions with symbols that allude to positive American values. One of the best of these is My American Life, an image of reconciliation between North and South.

Works by Jackson-Collins

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