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Thomas Jackson — Silk no. 3, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Thomas Jackson

Silk no. 3, Nantucket, Massachusetts

2022

Silk no. 3, Nantucket, Massachusetts presents a suspended swarm of delicate forms caught in mid-flight above an open coastal landscape, the figures hovering between order and dissolution in a way that feels simultaneously natural and deeply strange. Created in 2022, this large-scale archival pigment print measures 121.9 × 162.6 cm and belongs to Thomas Jackson's celebrated ongoing series in which computer-generated swarms, modeled on the emergent behavior of insects, birds, and other collective organisms, are composited into real-world photographic environments. The result is an image that troubles the boundary between the constructed and the observed, inviting sustained looking as the viewer works to reconcile the atmospheric plausibility of the scene with its quiet, persistent impossibility. Jackson's practice draws on complexity theory and the mathematics of self-organization, yet the finished works carry a poetic stillness that speaks as readily to the traditions of landscape photography as to conceptual art. In this Nantucket setting, the muted coastal light and open sky lend the composition a particularly contemplative quality, the swarm reading alternately as a murmuration, a drift of pollen, or something altogether harder to name. The soft, diffuse palette reinforces a sense of reverie rather than spectacle, distinguishing this work from more overtly dramatic interpretations of the swarm as subject. Signed by the artist and produced as an archival pigment print, Silk no. 3 represents a mature and resolved statement within a body of work that has attracted significant institutional and private attention. The work is offered through Jackson Fine Art, and collectors should note that framing is not included, allowing for presentation choices suited to individual environments. Given the scale and tonal sensitivity of the piece, it is best suited to generous wall space where the full atmosphere of the image can be experienced without compression.

Medium
Archival pigment print
Overall
Signed
Yes
Location
Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA

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About this work

Thomas Jackson, Silk no. 3, Nantucket, Massachusetts, 2022

Silk no. 3, Nantucket, Massachusetts presents a suspended swarm of delicate forms caught in mid-flight above an open coastal landscape, the figures hovering between order and dissolution in a way that feels simultaneously natural and deeply strange. Created in 2022, this large-scale archival pigment print measures 121.9 × 162.6 cm and belongs to Thomas Jackson's celebrated ongoing series in which computer-generated swarms, modeled on the emergent behavior of insects, birds, and other collective organisms, are composited into real-world photographic environments. The result is an image that troubles the boundary between the constructed and the observed, inviting sustained looking as the viewer works to reconcile the atmospheric plausibility of the scene with its quiet, persistent impossibility. Jackson's practice draws on complexity theory and the mathematics of self-organization, yet the finished works carry a poetic stillness that speaks as readily to the traditions of landscape photography as to conceptual art. In this Nantucket setting, the muted coastal light and open sky lend the composition a particularly contemplative quality, the swarm reading alternately as a murmuration, a drift of pollen, or something altogether harder to name. The soft, diffuse palette reinforces a sense of reverie rather than spectacle, distinguishing this work from more overtly dramatic interpretations of the swarm as subject. Signed by the artist and produced as an archival pigment print, Silk no. 3 represents a mature and resolved statement within a body of work that has attracted significant institutional and private attention. The work is offered through Jackson Fine Art, and collectors should note that framing is not included, allowing for presentation choices suited to individual environments. Given the scale and tonal sensitivity of the piece, it is best suited to generous wall space where the full atmosphere of the image can be experienced without compression.

Medium
Archival pigment print
Dimensions
overall: 121.9 x 162.6 cm
Year
2022
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Jackson Fine Art, Atlanta, GA

More works by Thomas Jackson

Collected by

The Schoolhouse Gallery, Jonathan Murray, Alex Capecelatro, Derek Jones, Aristotle Coonja