“Torchbearers” is a new body of work created by St. Paul based artist Jacob Docksey. Completed during his 2025 travels exploring Minnesota caves, this exhibition contains landscape paintings of subterranean environments, still life works of caving equipment, and charcoal drawings of local cavers in action. His landscape paintings were completed from observation on site and are intimate looks into hidden underground worlds. The still life paintings show a more time extensive process, and are life sized, one to one, depictions of mud-covered tools borrowed from cave sites. The charcoal drawings help show the camaraderie of the caving community and express in greater detail rock formations, and the dramatic lighting created when exploring these dark spaces. On view in the Vogel Gallery.
Join us for a Public Artist Reception!
“Torchbearers” Artist Reception
Jan 10, 12-3 pm
Red Wing Arts Depot Gallery
Join us for the Artist Reception from 12–3 pm, with remarks at 12:30 pm. Meet artist Jacob Docksey and several of the cavers who accompanied him underground, and hear the stories that shaped this new body of work. Complimentary refreshments from The Smokin’ Oak. Free and open to the public!
Artist Bio
Jacob Docksey is a visual artist currently residing in St. Paul, Minnesota. Born in 1994 in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, Jacob attended the University of Wisconsin-Stout where he attained a B.F.A in Studio Art with a painting concentration. Initially dedicated to oil painting he also creates stop-motion animations with traditional mediums like charcoal and chalk pastel. He draws inspiration from 20th century artists such as Ashcan School painter George Bellows, for his raw documentation of early industrial America, and Czechoslovakian filmmaker Jan Švankmajer for his surrealistic narratives.
Jacob Docksey has shown around much of the US and has received awards in group exhibitions at the Gamut Gallery C4W exhibition and Prometheus Exhibition at the Furlong Gallery, as well as partaken in the 2018 Survey of Wisconsin Artists at the Charles Allis Museum in Milwaukee. His work is part of the UW Stout permanent collection and His involvement in plein air painting was used in 2020 for a story titled “Fresh Air, Fresh Paint” in the Leader Telegram. Recently he was awarded a Creative Individual grant from the Minnesota State Art Board
Artist Statement
For millennia caves have played a significant role in human survival. Throughout time these underground environments have gained unique attributions from sites of primordial creation and ritual, to shelters that preserved prehistoric art. Minnesota is home to a wide variety of natural caves and historic excavations that contribute to a rich history. Layers beneath our feet, deposits of rock run throughout the Twin Cities metro area and continue to spread underneath the Driftless Region. Existing since the Ordovician Era over 450 millions years ago, the architect of time has been hard at work tunneling through layers of Platteville limestone, St. Peters sandstone, and dolomite, crafting unimaginable passages and chambers.
While exploring sites for my own documentation, I visited both natural and manmade caves in Minnesota. I discovered that St. Paul is home to many abandoned sites of antiquated industries. Previously utilized for brick making quarries, mushroom farming, dairy refrigeration, and even mobster run speak easies, some of these subterranean spaces are still accessible if you know where to look. Today dedicated adventurers continue to expand these subterranean worlds, making new discoveries, and documenting their findings. The Minnesota Caving Club is a community of people who have a passion for history, geography, and exploration. Equally so, experienced urban explorers continue to investigate the wonders of the Twin Cities underground world deserted long ago.
My work is equal parts adventure-seeking and documentation. As a plein air painter, I’m interested in creating visual records of places I explore and find thrill in discovering unusual environments that are rarely captured. Painting inside caves has required me to overcome new demands like accessibility, challenging climates, and even the occasional psychological discomfort. During my expeditions I am equipped with a travel easel, painting supplies, and provisions, all stowed in a rugged backpack. After hours of working, when my light sources are likely signaling low battery, I emerge from my subterranean studio welcomed by a warm humidity fogging up my glasses. It is not only finishing the painting that gives me a sense of achievement but the endurance required to complete these experiences.
This exhibition is dedicated to the community of cavers and urban explorers who taught me about this vast underground world of Minnesota. To the Minnesota Caving Club; Dave, Michael, John, Shaun, Xavier, Erik, Link, Dillon, Dan, and Ben, thanks for your expertise and trust in letting me join on some great expeditions. To the explorers of local sites; Oren, Peyton, and Cecil, thanks for helping me uncover a historic aspect of St. Paul that added a whole new dimension to this project. Whether it was your warning of the “death pits” scattered throughout Holy Grail, or your immediate response after falling 8 feet from a crumbling sandstone hold, you all provided expertise and knowledge that helped me create this work
Jacob Docksey is a fiscal year 2025 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.