Vicious Circles is the first exhibition in the United States dedicated to artist Jacqueline de Jong (b.1939, Hengelo, Netherlands, d. 2024, Amsterdam, Netherlands). The exhibition considers the perpetual theme of war and protest within the artist’s oeuvre; whether in paintings dedicated to the rebellious spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, or haunting portrayals of the ongoing war in Ukraine, De Jong remained focused on the present, reacting to the now.

Vicious Circles questions how the present relates to history, and the ways in which De Jong’s decades of engagement with current events forces viewers to confront the harsh reality of humanity’s endless repetition of violent trauma, and the critical nature of art as a form of resistance.

The exhibition also addresses De Jong’s legacy as a key figure within the history of counterculture publishing, highlighting her role as editor, publisher and designer of the quintessential artist-led magazine, The Situationist Times (1962-67). This six-volume, multilingual periodical was created by a group of artists who sought to disrupt cultural hierarchies and academic disciplines, with an emphatic dedication to creating situations of societal subversion. Up until the final moments of her recent passing, De Jong remained an outstanding female leader within a male-dominated network, and her place in history is distinguished by her critical contributions to the avant-garde throughout her life.

The show takes its title from a painting within De Jong’s mid-1960s series, Private Lives of Cosmonauts. In this body of work, the artist took on the subject of the Cold War and what came to be known as The Space Race. The image juxtaposes the interior experience of an astronaut with the grand historical narrative of man’s entry into the cosmos. The candy-colored, spiral composition plays with the fantastical notion of looking down upon the hubbub of the world from a whirling, zero gravity perspective. Among the revelry, however, is the underlying threat of nuclear destruction that defined the Cold War era. Nothing can be taken at face value in the art of De Jong, duality is always at play, humor and solemnity must coexist.

NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale is renowned for housing the largest US-based collection of Cobra, a post-World War II movement named after the home cities of its founders: CO-penhagen, BR-ussels, and A-msterdam. The museum is dedicated to expanding the discourse surrounding Cobra and its lineage, and to spotlighting artists who have been relegated to the margins of its history. De Jong’s position as one of the few women directly associated with the legacy of the group offers a feminist reading of Cobra’s central tenants: spontaneity, play, the elimination of the distinction between abstraction and figuration, and most importantly, freedom. De Jong’s art celebrates the persistence of Cobra’s revolutionary ideology, and the major contribution of women artists to the history of the avant-garde.

This exhibition is curated by the Museum’s Bryant-Taylor Curator, Ariella Wolens.