MARTHA JACKSON JARVIS

Born in Lynchburg, Virginia 1952

Temple University, BFA, 1972

Antioch University, MFA, 1984

Lives and works in Washington, D.C.

 

MARTHA JACKSON JARVIS (b. 1952) explores form, structure, and scale through a multi-media practice consisting of mosaic and paint to earthen, sculptural materials such as stone, copper, and sand. Jarvis’ multifarious practice challenges the viewer to find the extraordinary in our cultural and physical environments. Her works conjure themes of ritual and repetitive action and are made in reverence to the cycles of renewal, degradation, and transformation. Growing up in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Philadelphia, she now lives and works in Washington, D.C. Receiving a BFA from Temple University, and an MFA from Antioch University, Jarvis’ work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including a solo exhibition at the Baltimore Museum of Art (2023), and prior exhibitions at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1996); the Studio Museum of Harlem, NY(1993),  Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C. (1990) , Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C. (1987) and the Tretyakov Gallery Moscow, U.S.S.R.(1991). Jarvis has received numerous awards, including a Creative Capital Grant, a Virginia Groot Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and the Lila Wallace Arts International Travel Grant. She received the James A Porter Colloquium Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Baltimore Museum of Art; the Philadelphia African American Museum; and the Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College, Easton PA. She is currently at work on public commissions for the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital, Pittsburgh; and the Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria.