Bio
Jack Zajac (b. 1929), best known as a sculptor, started as a painter in the 1950s and 60s working in California and Italy. A series of gestural abstract oil paintings depicting the deposition of Christ and bronze sculptures from his equally touching series of sacrificial goats were created during that period. Sacrifice, death and redemption are well known themes in art. However, Jack Zajac’s interest in exploring such imagery at the time was not for religious reasons, but as a metaphor for the turbulent post-war world that feared nuclear escalation and the possibility of an apocalyptic ending. Beyond fear, Jack Zajac’s raw gestures combined with the essence of figuration were both elegant and imparted pure emotion to evoke an examination of both man’s inhumanity and the salvation of mankind through one man.