Martha Jackson Jarvis
My work engages issues of identity and symbols of belief that confront us in contemporary life yet are firmly rooted in historical traditions and culture. It challenges the viewer to see the place where they are as extraordinary.
About Me
Martha Jackson Jarvis’ sculptures have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; the Studio Museum of Harlem, Smithsonian Arts and Industries, N.Y. Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts, N.Y.; Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem, N.C.; Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Tretyakov Gallery Moscow, U.S.S.R. Her numerous awards include a Creative Capital Grant, Virginia Groot Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, The Penny McCall Foundation Grant, the Lila Wallace Arts International Travel Grant, recipient 2023 James A. Porter Colloquium Lifetime Achievement Award, Howard University, and the 2024 National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Women in the Arts Recognition Award.
Born in 1952, Martha Jackson Jarvis grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and currently lives and works in Washington, D.C. She studied at Howard University and received a BFA degree from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University and an MFA from Antioch University. Jackson Jarvis also studied mosaic techniques and stone cutting in Ravenna, Italy.
Jackson Jarvis has undertaken public and corporate art commissions for the Philip Morris corporation in Washington, D.C.; Merck Company in Pennsylvania; Fannie Mae in Washington, D.C. Washington Metro Transit Authority, Anacostia Station; New York Transit Authority, Mount Vernon; South Carolina Botanical Gardens in Clemson; Prince George’s County Courthouse in Upper Marlboro, Md.; Spoleto Festival in Charleston, S.C.; and MS/HS 368 Bronx, New York.
Sample Works
