DECATUR, Ill. – as one of America's leading sculptures of bronze and steel is the centerpiece of a new exhibition at the . Jackson was recently recognized as the 38th annual Master Metalsmith by the museum, the only institution in the United States devoted exclusively to the preservation, promotion, and advancement of the art and craft of fine metalwork.
Jackson’s exhibition is called and it explores Jackson’s Black southern roots, centering on the narratives of enslaved African Americans, particularly women, to offer an alternative view of American history. The exhibition runs Oct.6, 2024-Jan. 25, 2025, and features paintings and 17 large-scale sculptures, primarily cast bronze figures.
Jackson intends that the collection will reveal history buried, forgotten, or deemed unimportant by society.
"It is not confrontational—but it speaks the truth about the treatment of African American people in this country. The purpose of the work is to preserve cultural history and explicate attitudes within and outside the African American community,” he said. “It helps one to understand the value in preserving the behaviors of people arising from a struggle such as slavery over hundreds of years and explains how the aftermath still affects us today. The narratives accompanying the sculptures are a type of historical fiction, drawn from research and family memoirs."
Preston was born in Decatur, and after graduating from Stephen Decatur High School, he attended Millikin before transferring to Southern Illinois University to complete a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts.
“I was right out of high school, and Millikin was the school where I was physically right around the corner from where I lived on Sunset Avenue,” he said. “It was the only place for higher education, and at the time, I was seeking higher education. I didn't think that I was well prepared for the world, so I wanted to move on up to a higher area.”
From 1971 to 1972, Jackson returned to Millikin as a Drawing and Painting instructor.
“That was a beautiful time. It was just wonderful to get the opportunity to teach and paint and do my own work,” Preston said. “I return to Decatur when I can, and my relatives still live there. In fact, they are on Sunset Street in the very house I was born in.”
Jackson served as a professor of Art at Western Illinois University from 1972 to 1989 and then joined the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1989 as a professor of Sculpture. Since 1995, Jackson has served as owner of The Raven Gallery, home of the Contemporary Art Center in Peoria.
Around Decatur, Jackson’s bronze sculptures can be viewed at the Decatur Andreas Ag Academy and the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center, featuring sculptures of scientist and inventor George Washington Carver and U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves. The City of Decatur named a downtown park in Preston’s honor in 2022, and the park features his work, “From the Cottonfield to the Battlefield,” which honors the African American soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
Preston continues to create art at an impressive clip and, on average, can complete three pieces a month. A future piece has been commissioned to design a piece showing what Native American life looked like in Central Illinois that will be on display in Laura Bradley Park in Peoria.
“This work requires good foundry work, and I supply that myself. My dad was a foundryman at Wagner Iron Casting in Decatur, and so that runs in my family,” Preston said. “I think of Decatur often and Millikin. Although my time at Millikin was a short period of my life, my memories are of love and beauty.”
Visit the Metal Museum and see the exhibition
Preston’s exhibition is on display at the Metal Museum through Sunday, January 26, 2025. The Museum is open to the public Tuesday-Sunday, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Learn more about the Museum and its programs by visiting metalmuseum.org. Master Metalsmith: Preston Jackson | A Hidden Culture is partly supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
