Abstract art, in many ways, is also a way of connecting to the world. The truth is that our world is not perfect, but abstract art allows us to think about our world in new ways. Often we may not have thought about these things before. It helps us see the hidden beauty in things that we once ignored. And it helps us connect to others who share similar views with ourselves. It makes the impossible seem possible and gives hope to those who have lost all hope. Abstract also allows people to reflect on their lives. They are able to express their feelings instead of having to express themselves with words or through any other conventional channel.

Spotlight on U.S. Abstract Painter Jackie Saccoccio

Jackie Saccoccio is a native of New York City, United States, born in 1947. She attended the Pratt Institute, where she studied painting and art history under the instruction of Josef Albers and Nathan Oliveira and exhibited her work with the Jack Tworkov Gallery. In 1969 she moved to France to study at Sorbonne University, where she received her M.F.A.M.F.A. from Ecole des Beaux-Arts and was awarded a scholarship that allowed her to travel extensively in Europe from 1972-73. She received her Ph.D. in Art History from Boston University in May of 2006.

Saccoccio’s early works were sculptural reliefs referencing ancient Greek and Roman cultures and European architecture, strongly emphasizing mathematical and geometric forms. By 1974 she was painting with acrylics. Creating large-scale works on canvas and paper that combined forensic illustration with Freudian eroticism. Her work became more abstract over the following decades. Saccoccio’s work became increasingly abstracted; she describes the painting process as the perfecting technique until the hand disappears into color and form. In 2013, Saccoccio moved to New Mexico, where she continues to paint in her studio near Taos.

Honors and Awards

In 2016 Jackie Saccoccio was honored with the Oil Painting Award from the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, and the Annual Outstanding Teaching Award from the New World School of The Arts. In 2017 she received a residency at the South Florida Science Center. She receives commissions to paint murals and works on paper and created a seventy-year retrospective exhibition in 2017. Saccoccio continues to be an active teacher at workshops around the country, including a workshop she taught for over 40 years in New York City and one she taught for nine years in her home state of Georgia.

Saccoccio’s paintings are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The South Florida Science Center, the New York State Council on the Arts, and many other art institutions. Her work appears in many group and solo exhibitions throughout the United States. Saccoccio’s paintings also included in numerous private collections, including those of Arthur F. Glenn, Phyllis and Humbert S. Naylor, Alfredo C. Roque, Hilton Hotels International, the Westin Hotel Group, and many corporations and institutions.

Large Scale Works

Saccoccio also created nine large-scale works for the New York State Department of Transportation from 2007 – 2011 as part of her “Art on”the Move: The New York State Department of Transportation’s Art Program.” As a significant part of her career, she was commissioned to create an enormous sewn tapestry. It was designed for the entrance lobby of Davis Hall at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia in 1992. She has also created work for numerous skyscraper lobbies for clients such as MetLife, Prudential Financial Services, Lloyd’s of London, and many others. She was commissioned to create the first public mural to be installed in New York City’s City’s Square. Also she created a mural for the Walgreens drug store on 34th Street in Manhattan. Jackie has also been commissioned to create works for the new M.O.M.A. permanent collection at MoMA’s MoMA’s. Koch Plaza on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

In 2016 Saccoccio was invited by Rebuilding Together of New England and Coastal Society International to paint a mural with all proceeds going to both charities; two of her murals were then donated by M.O.M.A. to their Stairway Hall at their Museum campus near Central Park in New York.

More than 15 of Saccoccio’s paintings are in the permanent collections of Columbia University. Also in the School of Visual Arts, New York University, and many other art schools throughout the United States.

In print

Jackie Saccoccio is included in Art Makers to Watch, published by Taschen. She is also included in Abstract Painting: A Biennial Exhibition, published by Taschen; In February 2015, Saccoccio was included in a New York Times article titled Art Beyond Abstract Expressionism. She was also the subject of a radio interview on the Sirius Satellite program Soho Arts; Saccoccio was selected for three years to participate in Gallery Artists, an online art database.

In addition to her accomplishments in painting, Saccoccio is also a published author. In March of 2017, she published a book titled: Abstract Painting for the beginner and Beyond. The book is meant to help non-artists learn about modern art abstract painting. It will give them tools to take home and use in their own homes. She says that she hopes to get people engaged with art, especially if they don’t have formal training. This means they can appreciate the magic of abstract painting more.

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