Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s Jackson County Campus will host a fine art exhibition featuring the work of renowned Mississippi artist Joe A. MacGown. Titled “Observations from a Subconscious Meanderer,” the exhibition will be on display in the JC Fine Arts Gallery from January 20 through February 27 and is open to students, faculty, staff, and the public.

An opening reception will be held Tuesday, January 20, at 12 p.m. (noon) in the JC Fine Arts Gallery. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

MacGown, a Starkville, Mississippi-based artist, has been creating art for more than 50 years. He is widely known for his scientific illustrations and highly detailed, chaotic assemblages of strange, mutated creatures, densely populated surreal landscapes, and intricate, mandala-like designs. His work often blends imaginative imagery with random patterns, resulting in complex drawings and mixed-media paintings created through a process he calls “Subconscious Meandering,” allowing ideas to flow freely from the mind onto the page or canvas.

In addition to his career as an artist, MacGown worked as a research technician and scientific illustrator at the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University from 1988 until his retirement in 2020. His work there focused primarily on ant research. He later returned to the museum on a part-time basis to continue research on native and exotic ant species.

MacGown’s artwork has been featured in books, magazines, and other media, as well as in numerous local, regional, and international exhibitions. His work has appeared in group shows across the United States, including Dallas, Chicago, Memphis, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Spokane, as well as internationally in Australia, Colombia, Canada, Great Britain, the Philippines, Russia, Serbia, the Netherlands, Nepal, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and other regions.

In recent years, MacGown and his son, Joseph A. MacGown, have developed the MacGown Art Retreat and Studio (MARS) on their property in the Sessums community, located approximately 10 miles from the Mississippi State University campus. A key component of MARS is the MacGown Art Artist in Residence program, which provides stipends for two to four visiting artists each year. The program is supported by funding from the Del Rendon Foundation, the Mississippi Arts Commission, and private sponsors, and offers artists the opportunity to stay on-site for two to four weeks while creating new work.

For more information about Joe MacGown and his work, visit joemacgown.com, follow MacGown Art on Facebook, or find him on Instagram at @macgown_art.

The JC Campus Fine Arts Gallery is located on campus at 2300 Highway 90, Gautier, MS 39553.