Carl Solway Gallery: Jerry uelsmann Exhibit

Jay Bolotin

This exhibition consists of 27 drawings from an illustrated manuscript, selections from the manuscript itself presented as handwritten wall text, an edition of cast paper pieces and other sculptural elements. This new work is the initial source imagery for THE JACKLEG TESTAMENT: PART TWO, a trilogy. This exhibition marks an association of 35 years between Jay Bolotin and Carl Solway Gallery.

The first part of the trilogy, THE JACKLEG TESTAMENT, PART ONE: Jack & Eve, a woodcut motion picture and an accompanying edition of prints debuted at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. The exhibition traveled to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Joslyn Art Museum (Omaha), Vanderbilt University (Nashville), Georgia Museum of Art (Athens) and Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA). International venues included the John Hansard Museum in Southampton, England and the Pokoleniy Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia. The motion picture won “Best Animation” at the 2007 Santa Fe Film Festival and was honored with a special presentation at the 2009 Festival Internacional De Animacion - Chile. The motion picture may be viewed in the gallery’s screening room.

The initial work for Part Two introduces new characters, scenarios and imagery including Enoch, the son of the only Jewish coal miner in Kentucky; Mr. Sousaphone Man (a former Vaudeville actor turned Wilderness Guide); as well as Claire Cecilia Claire (3c for short), the Woman in the Burning Boat, a Talking Rat, the Spilling Cups, the Bell Ringer’s Thigh Bone, the Woman Who Paints Portraits of Dead Children, the Willing Girl and much more.

Jay Bolotin resides in Cincinnati, Ohio and was born in Fayette County, Kentucky in 1949. He is a prolific visual artist, writer, composer, musician, set designer and filmmaker. His woodcuts are represented in collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the 21c Museum in Louisville, the New York Public Library and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Previous theatrical productions include The Hidden Boy, which premiered at Center Theater in New York City and Limbus: A Mechanical Opera, presented at the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh under the direction of world-renowned director, Jonathan Eaton. Limbus incorporated performers and the artist’s giant mechanical sculptures. As a musician and songwriter, Bolotin has worked with Kris Kristofferson, Merle Haggard and Dan Fogelberg. His own releases include The Songs of Jay Bolotin Volume 1: Shadow of a Beast and the recently re-issued Jay Bolotin, originally recorded in 1970