Jed Jackson received his MFA from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, 1980 and his BFA from Memphis College of Art in Tennessee, 1977 and was awarded a residency at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine, 1974.  He has taught Painting, Art History, Art Theory and Critical Thinking and Humanities courses at the University and College level for 42 years. Jackson has held teaching positions at New York University (1986-90) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1990-1999). Jackson has held the position of Professor of Painting at The University of Memphis since 1999. He served as Chair of the the Art Department there from 1999-2006. As a senior accreditation evaluator, Jackson has served the National Association of Schools of Art and Design since 2004. Jackson is the author of the book Art: A Comparative Study, first published in 1994.

 

Jackson's beautifully rendered landscape and figurative oil paintings embody realism with a distinctive twist.  Gleaning inspiration from illustration publications, Cinema, Literature, Music and a plethora of other twentieth century cultural sources, Jackson incorporates these images and ideas with a keen sense of color and composition to create paintings that are simultaneously rich in content and aesthetically dynamic. Jackson's paintings have been shown in over 200 national and international exhibitions gaining wide critical acclaim in published articles and reviews. His work has been supported by numerous Grants and fellowships from the NEA, ArtsMidwest, Tennessee Arts Commission, Arts Memphis, FedEX Forum and many other art support agencies.