Bio:
Jacob Rowan (b. 1990) is a visual artist working in Jackson, Mississippi. His drawings have been featured in multiple solo and group shows, including the Meridian Museum of Art in Meridian, Manifest Gallery in Ohio, The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, and several pop-up locations in Tokyo, Japan. In 2023, he was awarded an Artist Fellowship Grant by the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Jacob Rowan received his MFA in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art in 2019. He is an Associate Professor of Art at Belhaven University, where he teaches drawing, art history, aesthetics, and art theory. He has also worked in various capacities as an art editor, curator, artist-in-residence, and community organizer.
STATEMENT:
My drawings are composed from layers of dense linear patterns, geometric shapes, towers, scaffolding, cathedrals, antennae, and other architectonic motifs. These fragmented architectural forms are often collaged together with found materials and mounted onto modular wooden panels that can be reconfigured endlessly. Through this ongoing drawing project, begun in 2012, I explore the concept of an edifice, a term that can mean both a complex system of beliefs and an imposing physical structure. I see many correlations between our mental frameworks and the built environment. Cathedrals are sermons in stone. Skyscrapers are monuments of human achievement and hubris. The cell towers that litter the landscape are gateways into an invisible network that contains nearly all human knowledge. Even more incredible is that all of these manifestations of the human desire to build towards a better world began as ideas inscribed as lines on paper. I’m fascinated by the conceptual potential of the line, and as a result, many of the tools I use are associated with traditional drafting and writing—rulers, a compass, templates, lettering guides, ruling pens, mechanical pencils, dip pens, and ink. I’ve recently started using an iDraw, a plotter that can hold any kind of drawing instrument and which follows vector paths. That drawing machine allows me to repeat significant motifs, build up dense areas of linear texture, and quickly create complex patterns.
My drawing process is a kind of parti, a drawing or diagram which serves as the organizing thought guiding an architect’s design. However, instead of outlining a new construction project, I’m trying to discern a guiding principle behind the fragmented edifice I see crumbling toward heaven in everything from our most ancient histories to our speculative visions of the future.
Under the label “Artist and Droid,” I use drawing machines to create prints that combine drawings from my sketchbook and Adobe Illustrator with found images of architecture and technology. Those prints can be divided into two distinct series. Attention Engines, which explores the devices, structures, and mechanisms by which our attention is captured and focused; and Information Infrastructures, which explores the means by which information is created, stored, and transmitted.
SOLO and JOINT EXHIBITIONS:
Edifice and Alchemy, Bitsy Irby Gallery, Jackson, MS. 2020
MICA Grad Show: Edificial Epistemologies. Gateway Gallery, Baltimore, MD. 2019
Jacob Rowan at Cups in the Quarter. Cups in the Quarter, Jackson, MS. 2017
The Tower, the Desert, and Other Images. Deep South Pops Gallery, Jackson, MS. 2016
The Aesthetic of Illumination. Pearl River Glass Studio Gallery, Jackson, MS. 2015
Control and Release joint show with Bryan Fulton. Lisette’s Gallery, Jackson, MS. 2012
GROUP EXHIBITIONS:
Drawing Connections. Hall Gallery, Jackson, MS 2024
50th Annual Bi-State Competition and Exhibition. Meridian Museum of Art, Meridian, MS 2024
ArtWork. Bitsy Irby Gallery, Jackson, MS 2023
Artifex Ex Machina. Manifest Gallery, Cincinnati, OH. 2022
Insight. Collage Gallery, Jackson, MS. 2021
Irene Rosenzweig 2021 Juried Biennial Exhibition. The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. Pine Bluff, AR. 2021
MFAST 2nd/3rd Year Exhibition. Riggs and Leidy Galleries. Baltimore, MD. 2018
MFAST 2nd/3rd Year Exhibition. Riggs and Leidy Galleries. Baltimore, MD. 2017
ROTHKO REFRACTIONS, New Stage Theater, Jackson, MS. 2016
Jackson Academy Faculty Art Show, Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center, Jackson, MS. 2016
Alumni Invitational. Bitsy Irby Gallery. Jackson MS. Juried. 2015
3rd Annual Cedars Juried Show. The Cedars. Jackson, MS. Juried. 2014
Junior Olympics Art Show. Jackson Convention Center. Jackson, MS. 2014
Composition, an Exhibition by the Jackson Art Movement. Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center. Jackson, MS. 2013
CityScape. Light, Space, and Time Online Gallery. Juried. 2013
Pop-up gallery at Asahi Hall. Tokyo, Japan. 2013
Pop-up gallery at Cafe Haus. Tokyo, Japan. 2013
The Collective, a Senior Art Exhibition. Arts Center of Mississippi. Jackson, MS. Juried. 2012
Mississippi Collegiate Arts Competition. Jackson, MS. Juried. 2012
Annual Student Show. Bitsy Irby Gallery. Jackson, MS. Juried. 2012
Annual Student Show. Bitsy Irby Gallery. Jackson, MS. Juried. 2011
Annual Student Show. Bitsy Irby Gallery. Jackson, MS. Juried. 2010
RELEVANT WORK EXPERIENCE:
Associate Professor of Art at Belhaven University: August 2020—Present. Jackson, MS (Teaching drawing, art history, aesthetics, and art theory)
Adjunct at Hinds Community College: August 2019—May 2020. Raymond, MS (Teaching design)
Art Teacher at Jackson Academy: November 2013—May 2020. Jackson, MS (Created and implemented 9th-12th grade studio art and art history curriculum. Average of 70-100 students).
Private Art Tutor: January 2015—January 2016. Jackson, MS (Private drawing lessons for interested students).
Artist in Residence with Community Arts Tokyo: January—July 2013. Tokyo, Japan (Exhibited art, curated pop-up galleries, organized art events, and led discussion groups).
Gallery Assistant at View Gallery: June—December 2012. Jackson, MS (Supervised gallery in owner's absence, designed booklet of artists’ statements, and discussed pieces with clients).
Receptionist at Mississippi Museum of Art: August—December 2012. Jackson, MS (Sold tickets and answered questions about temporary exhibitions).
Art Editor for The Brogue (The literary journal of Belhaven University): August 2011—August 2012. Jackson, MS (Selected visual art to be included in the publication and assisted in editing written submissions).
Freelance Writer for the Art and Culture section of the Jackson Free Press: February—March 2012. Jackson, MS. (Wrote art and cultural reviews as needed).
Preparator’s Assistant at Mississippi Museum of Art: February 2012. Jackson, MS (Assisted in the installation of a temporary exhibit).
Intern at Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Illustration Collection for the Division of Fishes: May—July 2011. Silver Springs, MD (Assisted in the conservation of scientific illustrations and database management).
PUBLICATIONS, REVIEWS, and ARTICLES:
Featured artist in As Sparks Fly Upward: Reflections for Lent. Published by Redeemer Presbyterian Church. 2021
Featured artist in an Advent Calendar. Published by Redeemer Presbyterian Church. 2018
“Jacob Rowan” Interview in 365 Artists/365 Days, A Frank Juarez Gallery and Greymatter Gallery Collaborative Project. October, 2015
Art as Illumination [https://artasillumination.wordpress.com]. Blog featuring interviews, reviews, artwork, and essays. 2013–Present
Mississippi Aesthetic, Issue 2, contributing artist. 2013
Anamnesis Artwork published in Curator Magazine, an online arts and culture journal, October, 2013
The Brogue, Volume 12.1, contributing artist and writer. 2013
“Belhaven University Artists Display Excellent Work.” Review of senior exhibition in Mississippi Museum of Art blog. March, 2012
"Belhaven Art Studios.” Review by Joe Ellis in The Clarion-Ledger. February, 2012
“Fruits of Education,” “Laughing All Over Again,” and “Looking Again.” Articles published in the Culture section of the Jackson Free Press. May, 2012
The Brogue, Volume 10, contributing artist and writer. 2012
EDUCATION:
M.F.A. in Studio Art from the Maryland Institute College of Art: Baltimore, MD. 2019
B.A. in Art with a minor in Creative Writing from Belhaven University: Jackson, MS. 2012