During a career spanning more than six decades, Jacqueline de Jong (1939–2024) explored the violence, humour, eroticism and the banality of human existence. She is best known for her paintings, which range in form from Abstract Expressionism to New Figuration and Pop Art. She borrowed her themes from the worlds of pop culture, entertainment and political reporting – on the Gulf War, for example – and made overt references to the works of other artists such as Francisco de Goya, R. B. Kitaj and Francis Bacon.

Curator Alison M. Gingeras described de Jong’s artistic shape-shifting as ‘perpetual migration as situation’ – a tendency to effortlessly cross boundaries and take on new perspectives with relish. Known as one of the few woman members of the Situationist International, Jong’s dedication to painting resulted in her eventual expulsion from the increasingly theoretical group, that at that time generally dismissed painting as consumerist. During this time, the artist also became deeply involved in local activism, founding the influential journal, The Situationist Times and fashioning disruptive interventions in public spaces.