Art Exhibit: "Thy Pit Is Thy Bour" by Jack Brockman

Thy Pit Is Thy Bour is Jack Brockman’s first solo exhibition with the Oak Park Public Library. The name is taken from a medieval memento mori: “Whan the turuf is thy tour, / And thy pit is thy bour, / Thy fel and thy whitë throtë / Shullen wormës to notë."

The show is comprised of oil and mixed-media paintings largely in an isolated, domestic setting which attempt to grapple with the existential struggles of existence. The pieces follow in the tradition of the troubled domestic paintings of Hammershøi and Hopper or the literature of Ibsen. What makes a house a home? What is it to be known? Does work provide meaning and value to existence? The viewer will likely not find answers to such questions but yet the questions are raised. 

Related Event

Art Exhibit Reception: "Thy Pit Is Thy Bour" by Jack Brockman, Sunday, June 8, 2025, 2:00pm - 3:30pm at the Main Library Gallery

About the artist
Jack Brockman (b. 1994) is a painter, multidisciplinary artist, and florist based in Chicago. His painting practice is self taught as a byproduct of the COVID-19 lockdowns. The work addresses themes of mortality, alienation, understanding domesticity in the contemporary age, and ultimately, finding meaning amidst the chaos of life.