Some Art I Liked: Five Minutes on Jacob Todd Broussard
House of Apollo (Postmonition), 2023
For Pride Month I wanted to highlight the incredible work of Jacob Todd Broussard. Hope you enjoy!
Above: House of Apollo (Postmonition), 2023, Jacob Todd Broussard, acrylic and flashe on wood panel, 48 x 36 in) Click to enlarge.
TL;DR:
Artist Status: Jacob is an emerging artist with a handful of solo exhibitions under his belt.
Price: His paintings are $15k and under, depending on size.
Where else can I see his work? He is represented by Towards Gallery (Toronto) as well as Wolfgang Gallery (Atlanta), where his newest work is on exhibit.
Jacob Todd Broussard, was born in 1992 in Lafayette, Louisiana. He earned a BFA in Painting from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MFA in Painting and Printmaking from Yale School of Art. He lives and works in Richmond, VA, where he also works as an Assistant Professor of Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University.
His Style
Jacob’s work is deeply influenced by Southern queer histories, and his attempts to fill in missing information with mythical imagery. His works are rooted in creating a cinematic universe from specific gay people who have impacted his life.
In the painting above, Jacob recreates a party based on his research into the Mystic Krewe of Apollo, the longest-running gay Carnival organization in Louisiana. His research began when he discovered a photo of a distant cousin at one of the Krewe’s Carnival parties. The painting reimagines the claustrophobia and crowd of a Krewe house party. The protagonist—perhaps a fictionalized version of his cousin—appears to have spotted something (or someone) in the distance, with an ambiguous facial reaction. Is he excited or scared? Jacob invites us into two worlds: the gay Krewe subculture and the man in the center of the story.
Jacob works with light masterfully, and the interplay of light and shadow add to this work’s intrigue. The dark background offers just a glimpse of the scene (note the disco ball). The subject is partially illuminated by the soft glow of the spotlight, casting his face in a mask-like shadow and suggesting a hidden identity.
(Above: The Appraisers, 2023, Jacob Todd Broussard, acrylic and flashe on wood panel, 60 x 48 in) Click to enlarge.
Jacob uses his lighting style to create cryptic worlds. In the painting above, two men closely inspect a table. A closer look reveals a dead bug and a crawfish, a quintessential Louisiana symbol. The men appear to be more than mere appraisers: why is the nude man deep in concentration while the shirtless man looks apprehensive? Were they interrupted during a physical act?
The blood-red background evokes a creepy, suspenseful feeling, as if we are witnessing a horror scene unfold before our eyes. A vinyl record by Patrick Cowley—a pioneer in 80s electronic dance music, and co-creator of Sylvester’s pride anthem You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)—titled Muscle Up1 leans on the table. Is the painting title referring to a literal appraisal of the furniture, or an appraisal of their situation?
Contemporary Context
Jacob is unique in the way he incorporates southern folklore and gay stories in his works. First, the lighting in his pieces are seemingly inspired by the legend of feu follet or “swamp fairies”, ghostly or phosphorescent lights that appear in the swamp or bogs at night. Cajun legend states that if you try to follow these lights, the light will retreat and lead you deeper into the swamps until you are hopelessly lost.
(Above: Seascape with Star, undated, Forrest Bess, Oil on panel, 10 x 11 in; San Francisco MoMa Permanent Collection). Click to enlarge
In Jacob’s latest exhibition, he incorporates the story of modern painter Forrest Bess. Forrest (1911-1977) was a reclusive, gay Texas-based artist and fisherman who created symbolic works influenced by his dreams and personal visions. Forrest’s work explored themes of duality, nature, and gender. In the painting above, Forrest combines elements of landscape painting with abstract forms, reflecting how a dream may be recalled in one’s memory. He lived mostly in obscurity, but has recently gained recognition and appreciation in the art world in the form of museum retrospectives.
(Above: Towards An Appraisal of an Atemporal Eros in Additive Light (Antiques Roadshow S16.E2), 2024, Jacob Todd Broussard, acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 in) Click to enlarge
In Jacob’s painting above, he recreates the viewing of a real Antiques Roadshow episode where a Forrest Bess painting was being appraised. “He painted his dreams. And this is one of his dreams,” said the owner. Jacob combines the analog glow of an old television set with hot pink lighting, perhaps referencing the otherworldliness of Bess’ work but also nodding at his queerness. You see the glowing celestial subject in the painting being appraised, introducing multiple layers of viewpoints. The Forrest work is being analyzed by the appraiser, then by the TV show audience, and now through Jacob’s painting. (For fun, you can view the actual Antiques Roadshow clip here)
Finally, Jacob adds to the intrigue by reframing the time and location of the piece: Who is watching this old show? When and where are they watching it, given the age of this RCA cathode ray TV? Jacobs creates this esoteric and expanded universe using the works and life of an underground gay artist as a starting point.
Impact
Jacob has shown his work in multiple solo and group exhibitions around the world, including Toronto, Miami, and New York. His most current exhibition can be viewed in Wolfgang Gallery (Atlanta) through July 20.
I’m doing this newsletter for fun. If you would like help navigating the art world in building your own collection (Jacob or other artists), that would be fun for me too! Send me a note if you think I can be helpful, or if you have any feedback on this free newsletter.
Here’s my newsletter archive, in case you’d like to read up on other great artists!
This music album is worth a spin: Muscle Up is a collection of soundtracks Cowley produced in the 1970s. The music was described as “interplanetary sex music”; in fact, some of the singles served as soundtracks for gay porn movies of the period!