5 things you d

5️⃣ things you didn’t know about Jess, a revered Bay Area chemist turned artist. — 1. Born Burgess Collins on August 6, 1923, he took the name ‘Jess’ after separating from his family in the late 1940s. 2. While studying chemistry at @CalTechEdu, he was drafted into the @USarmy in 1943. Until 1946 he worked on the production of plutonium for the atomic bomb. 3. After the army, he became disillusioned with science. Following a nightmare about the world destroying itself, he made a radical turn to art. 4. In 1949 he enrolled at SF’s California School of Fine Arts (now @SFaiOfficial) where he studied painting under Clyfford Still. 5. In his paintings and collages – which often incorporate images from mythology, fables, symbols, chemistry, or alchemy – Jess created absurd and complex pictorial worlds. — Jess, ‘Reentry Pattern (or Telepathic Conspiracy Between Tiamat and Fenris)’, a 1985 mixed media collage presented in the Survey sector by @TiborDeNagyGallery. #artbasel #artbaselmiamibeach #artbaselmiami #tibordenagygallery #arthistory #bayarea #painting #collageartist #collageartwork