Fig. 204–Gastro-duodenostomy (Kocher)

JessWW-1969-112646

1969·Oil on canvas over wood·63.5 × 83.8 cm (25 × 33 in.)

Jess Collins’s work has been described as “easy to be charmed by and less easy to look at.” Indeed, the artist used a some-what grisly illustration from a 1913 surgery textbook as the source image for this work. Fig. 204–Gastro-duodenostomy (Kocher) reflects Collins’s recurring interest in humanity’s vulnerability and mortality. Thick layers of paint and a fabric-wrapped frame create a vibrant yet impenetrable barrier that is both tactile and enigmatic. On the back, Collins handwrote an excerpt from artist and poet William Blake’s annotations to The Excursion: Being a Portion of the Recluse, by poet William Wordsworth. The tension between the dense, textured canvas and the hidden text invites viewers to look beyond the surface and consider what lies beneath.

Catalogue

Year: 1969
Medium: Oil on canvas over wood
Dimensions: 63.5 × 83.8 cm (25 × 33 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Jess

Artist

Jess

Painting

Jess (1923, 2004) was an American collagist and assemblage artist whose layered, densely worked compositions combined printed ephemera, found objects, and painted interventions into intricate visual narratives. Working from the 1950s onward, his practice engaged with dreams, mythology, and the detritus of consumer culture, creating what he called 'paste-ups' that functioned as both formal experiments and psychic excavations. His work challenged the autonomy of the picture plane through accumulation and visual density rather than reduction or gesture.

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