vegetables

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches. All images courtesy of Chatham Soccer, shared with permission

Dried Slices of Produce Enliven a Cellar-Like Space in Ruby Jackson’s ‘Picker’

August 26, 2025

ArtFood

Grace Ebert

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Like ancient traditions of weaving papyrus, Ruby Jackson fashions a similarly desiccated substrate from delicate cuts of produce. The Chatham, New York-based artist sliced and dried a range of fare from apples and pears to purple daikon and watermelon, creating thin, translucent pieces to be collaged into various forms.

Jackson’s recent solo exhibition, Picker at Chatham Soccer, presented a series of the resulting works. A troupe of dancers frolicks along one wall, while more abstract forms arranged in gradients appear on another. With yellow concrete walls and wood paneling, the unconventional space evokes a fruit cellar primed for storing harvests through a long winter, a fitting atmosphere for this equally unconventional material.

Find more of Jackson’s work on her website and Instagram.

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

“Marbles” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beet, black radish), 20 ½ x 16 ¾ inches

Detail of “Marbles” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beet, black radish), 20 ½ x 16 ¾ inches

Detail of “The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

“The Peddler” (2025), assorted papyrus (apple, beets, black radish, cantaloupe, carrot, cucumber, leek, lime, pear, purple cabbage, purple carrot, purple daikon radish, radicchio, red radish, watermelon, zucchini), 220 x 52 ½ inches

“To keep bugs out of the house” (2025), radichhio papyrus, 9 ½ x 10 inches

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