Jackie Felix (1929-2009 )

Jackie's way of playing with iconic subjects is represented in a momunental work she created at Hallwalls in the summer of 1996, a 22-foot-long mural of fourteen figures in the space opposite the entrance to the gallery. Arranged in a manner reminiscent of Leonardo da Vinci's fresco The Last Supper, these figures congregate by a flat surface (in this case a bar, rather than a table). This functional bar, extending across the entire length of the mural, bisects all of the figures at the waist or lower chest, creating two regions. Above the bar's surface seemed to be a public realm of events, while below, further obscured by bar stools, is a shadowed nether land of hidden gestures and sexual suggestions. The figures are larger than life, the wall a rhythm of activity, drawn and painted in muted fresco-like colors of black, white and grey with hints of color. -Sara Kellner