{"id":18633,"date":"2026-07-10T22:08:44","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T02:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/?p=18633"},"modified":"2026-07-11T10:56:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T14:56:50","slug":"exploring-jess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/exploring-jess\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Jess"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Net Maker<\/em> by Jess
paste-up; 1960; Courtesy of the Dodd Family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

COLLAGE ON VIEW<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exploring Jess: Beat Generation Visionary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

at Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
22 April-6 December 2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ashamed about his role in creating the atom bomb, Burgess Franklin Collins (\u201cJess\u201d) (1923\u20132004) left his career as a radiochemist. Rejecting mid-century society\u2019s expectations of living in the suburbs and working a corporate job, he chose, instead, to try his hand as an artist. Jess\u2019s new bohemian lifestyle, marriage to poet Robert Duncan, and residence in San Francisco placed him within the Beatnik literary counterculture movement (1950s\u20131960s). Providing new insight into this intersection between the Beats\u2019 written word and Jess\u2019s visual art, this exhibition demonstrates how Jess used the power of the arts as refuge from mainstream society, creating alternative worlds as an escape from current events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Cover for Credences 3<\/em> by Jess
paste-up; 1975; Courtesy of Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco and Jess Collins Trust. Photograph by Miles Petersen.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Divided into four sections, this exhibition traces Jess\u2019s role in the Bay Area countercultural scene. \u201cJess and Robert Duncan: The Nexus of Production\u201d explores the married life of the couple and their home as a creative safe space. \u201cCollage Against Materialism\u201d focuses on Jess\u2019s collages that repurpose thrifted materials, challenging the consumerism of the 1950s and 1960s. Jess\u2019s collaborations with Beat writers and San Francisco creatives are examined in \u201cWords and Pictures.\u201d Finally, \u201c\u2018Indwelling\u2019 through Painting\u201d demonstrates Jess\u2019s ability to create his own world through his painting practice. \u201cExploring Jess: Beat Generation Visionary\u201d invites visitors to see Jess as an artist who transformed intimacy, collaboration, and reuse into a radical creative practice, building a deeply personal world that quietly resisted the cultural conformism of his time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition includes loans from Tibor de Nagy Gallery; the Jess Collins Trust; Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco; and The Poetry Collection of the University Libraries, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curated by Kelli Bodle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(text adapted from material provided by the museum)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

INFORMATION<\/strong>

Boca Raton Museum of Art<\/strong>
501 Plaza Real
Boca Raton, Florida 33432 USA
(561) 392-2500<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hours:<\/strong>
Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 10AM\u20135PM
Thursday, 10AM\u20138PM<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MAP<\/a> | WEBSITE<\/a> | INSTAGRAM<\/a> | FACEBOOK<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

COLLAGE ON VIEW Exploring Jess: Beat Generation Visionary at Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida, USA22 April-6 December 2026 Ashamed about his role in creating the atom bomb, Burgess Franklin Collins (\u201cJess\u201d) (1923\u20132004) left his career as a…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":18638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-collage-exhibitions","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Jess-Net-Maker-Web.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2QTD7-4Qx","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18642,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/drawing-with-scissors\/","url_meta":{"origin":18633,"position":0},"title":"Drawing with Scissors","author":"Seth Ter Haar","date":"10 July 2026","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Quarter-Deck from the Waves series by Frank Stellasilkscreen, lithography, and linoleum block with hand-coloring, marbling, and collage; 1988. Courtesy of the artist. COLLAGE ON VIEW Drawing with Scissors at Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida, USA20 May 2026\u20138 February 2027 In its most basic form, collage is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Frank-Stella-The-Quarter-Deck-from-the-Waves-series-Web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Frank-Stella-The-Quarter-Deck-from-the-Waves-series-Web.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Frank-Stella-The-Quarter-Deck-from-the-Waves-series-Web.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/Frank-Stella-The-Quarter-Deck-from-the-Waves-series-Web.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2067,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/jess-at-the-crocker\/","url_meta":{"origin":18633,"position":1},"title":"Jess, Robert Duncan & Their Circle at the Crocker Art Museum","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"18 July 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"9 June-1 September 2013 \u201cAn Opening of the Field: Jess, Robert Duncan, and Their Circle\" is the first exhibition to focus on the artistic production and relationship between the artist Jess, his partner Robert Duncan, and their remarkable circle of friends.","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/VIIth-wave-copyweb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/VIIth-wave-copyweb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/VIIth-wave-copyweb.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14219,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/resonator-reanimator\/","url_meta":{"origin":18633,"position":2},"title":"Resonator-Reanimator","author":"Christopher Byrne","date":"27 July 2023","format":"gallery","excerpt":"Earth Force 2 by Sri Prabhaacrylic, recycled plastics, India ink, and digital print; 2023. Courtesy of the artist. COLLAGE ON VIEW Sri Prabha: Resonator-Reanimator at the Boca Raton Museum of Art in Boca Raton, Florida, USA14 June-22 October 2023 Sri Prabha created a site-specific multi-sensory installation that explores our connection\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Exhibitions"","block_context":{"text":"Exhibitions","link":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/category\/content\/collage-exhibitions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/sri-prabha-earth-force-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/sri-prabha-earth-force-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/sri-prabha-earth-force-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/sri-prabha-earth-force-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2194,"url":"https:\/\/kolajmagazine.com\/content\/content\/articles\/book-review-jess\/","url_meta":{"origin":18633,"position":3},"title":"Book Review: O! 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