Julia Jacquette: Playground of My Mind

This graphic memoir interweaves personal history with architectural documentation, exploring how the modernist adventure playgrounds of 1960s and ’70s New York City shaped the artist’s creative sensibilities. Through meticulous gouache paintings on paper, Jacquette resurrects the concrete landscapes of her childhood. Originally exhibited at the Wellin Museum before being published in collaboration with Del Monico Books and Prestel, the memoir serves as a critical reassessment of Brutalist architecture by highlighting its most playful, sculptural manifestations. Jacquette's narrative demonstrates how these thoughtfully designed environments functioned as formative spaces where children could experiment with physical boundaries and social dynamics, posing the provocative question of how early interactions with innovative design might unconsciously mold aesthetic preferences and cognitive frameworks that persist throughout adulthood.

Published by the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art at Hamilton College, New York, 2017

Designed by Tim Laun and Natalie Wedeking

Hardcover, graphic memoir, 60 pages

_{Artworks © Julia Jacquette}