Artist · Holland Tunnel 2018, 2022, 2023, 2026
Jacques Roch
Painter · Illustrator · Cartoonist · Muralist · 1934–2015
Jacques Roch (1934–2015) was a French painter and illustrator whose brightly colored canvases are filled with comic-strip figures acting out small stories. Based in Williamsburg for decades, he showed at Holland Tunnel from its early Brooklyn years through posthumous exhibitions of his estate in Newburgh.
Verified · 5 sources
Biography
Jacques Roch trained at the Beaux-Arts schools of Lyon and Paris. In France in the 1960s and 70s he made public mosaics, murals and painted sculpture for schools and civic buildings, and in 1971 the Paris publisher A. Balland issued a book of his drawings. His irreverent, often erotic cartoons appeared in the Paris magazines Pilote, Charlie Mensuel and Hara-Kiri.
According to the gallery, he lived in Greece and then England, where Drian Galleries in London gave him a show in 1976, before settling in New York. By 1978–80 his comics were running in Playboy, Heavy Metal and The New York Times. In New York he showed at Exit Art, including the 1990 survey Ten Years of Painting in New York City, and from 1996 regularly at Kim Foster Gallery in Chelsea. He became a fixture of the Williamsburg scene, with shows at Side Show Gallery, 101 Grand and Holland Tunnel.
Critics including Robert C. Morgan, Dominique Nahas, Denise Carvalho and Lilly Wei wrote about him, and he was reviewed in Art in America, ARTnews and Art Press. His paintings bring back the human figure as semi-abstract, cartoonish signs that pop out of fields of color. Holland Tunnel's Holland Tunnel Art Project published his cookbook Good Heavens! in 2001.
He showed with the gallery in Brooklyn and on Paros, Greece, and after his death in 2015 his estate lent work to the Newburgh shows Esperanza (2018–19), the 25th anniversary exhibition (2022), Three of a Kind (2023) and Le Monde Fantastique de Jacques (2026).
Practice. Brightly colored paintings in which cartoon-like, semi-abstract figures play out small stories against fields of color, rooted in his work as a satirical cartoonist and book illustrator. Earlier work in France also included mosaics, murals and painted sculpture.
Holland Tunnel record
Every show and performance at Holland Tunnel, with the artists who were part of it.
- 2026
Exhibition
Le Monde Fantastique de Jacques
- 2023
- 2022
- 2018
Solo exhibition
Esperanza
- 2018
- 2018
Connections
Who Jacques has shown or played with at Holland Tunnel, plus collaborators in the directory.Shown togetherWider circle
Wider circle
- Paulien LethenHolland Tunnel founder; showed him for decades and now presents his estate's work
- Holland Tunnel Art ProjectPublisher of his cookbook Good Heavens! (2001)
- Kim Foster GalleryNew York dealer; nine solo shows, 1996–2019
- Robert C. MorganCritic and curator who wrote on him repeatedly (1992–2005)
- Dominique NahasCritic; essays 1996, 2005, 2019
- Denise CarvalhoCritic; essays 1999, 2008, 2009, 2019
- Gemma Kahng and Julie LindellCo-exhibitors in Three of a Kind (2023)
- Tony RochTwo-person show at Side Show Gallery (2009)
- Bix Lye, Jan Mulder, Alexandra Limpert, Larry Lee Webb, Susan DabollCo-exhibitors in Holland Tunnel's 25th anniversary show (2022)
Career timeline
- 1965Exhibited at a Paris salon
- 1966–1976Public mosaics, murals and painted sculpture for schools and civic buildings in France (Aulnay-sous-Bois, Charleville, Tours, Brive, Belfort)
- 1971Book of drawings Paris Ville Peige [sic, per CV] published by A. Balland, Paris
- 1973–1977Comics and drawings in Pilote, Charlie Mensuel, Hara-Kiri and Pourquoi, Paris
- 1976Solo exhibition, Drian Galleries, London
- 1978–1980Comics published in Playboy, Heavy Metal and The New York Times
- 1985Five French Artists Living in New York, French Embassy; solo shows at Exit Art and Facchetti-Burk Gallery
- 1990Ten Years of Painting in New York City, Exit Art
- 1993Art Omi colony, Omi, NY
- 1996–2019Nine solo exhibitions at Kim Foster Gallery, New York
- 1999Book of drawings with text The Dream of the Unicorn
- 2001Good Heavens! cookbook published by Holland Tunnel Art Project
- 2003–2006Group shows with Holland Tunnel Gallery in Brooklyn and on Paros, Greece
- 2010Solo exhibition, Galerie Carla Magna, Paris
- 2015Died, aged 80 per the gallery
- 2018–2019Esperanza, Holland Tunnel Newburgh (estate)
- 2026Le Monde Fantastique de Jacques, Holland Tunnel Revisited, Newburgh
Selected exhibitions
| 2026 | Le Monde Fantastique de Jacques | Holland Tunnel Revisited, Newburgh, NY |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Three of a Kind (with Gemma Kahng and Julie Lindell) | Holland Tunnel Gallery, Newburgh, NY |
| 2022 | Holland Tunnel Gallery Celebrates 25 Years | Holland Tunnel Gallery, Newburgh, NY |
| 2019 | Solo exhibition | Kim Foster Gallery, New York, NY |
| 2018–2019 | Esperanza | Holland Tunnel Newburgh, Newburgh, NY |
| 2018 | Grand Opening, HTG Newburgh | Holland Tunnel Gallery, Newburgh, NY |
| 2013 | Solo exhibition | Art 101, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2010 | Solo exhibition | Galerie Carla Magna, Paris, France |
| 2009 | Dream of Flying (with Tony Roch) | Side Show Gallery, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | Menage a Trois | Holland Tunnel Gallery, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2005 | The Labyrinth | Holland Tunnel Gallery, Paros, Greece |
| 2003 | clear intentions (curated by Robert C. Morgan) | The Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2001 | 718 Brooklyn! (curated by Michael Rush and Dominique Nahas) | Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, FL |
| 2000 | The Figure: Another Side of Modernism (curated by Lilly Wei) | Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island, NY |
| 1990 | Ten Years of Painting in New York City (solo) | Exit Art, New York, NY |
| 1985 | Selections (Kay Larson) | Artists Space, New York, NY |
| 1976 | Solo exhibition | Drian Galleries, London, UK |
Publications
- 1971Paris Ville Peige [sic, per CV] (book of drawings) · A. Balland, Paris
- 1999The Dream of the Unicorn (drawings with text)
- 2001Good Heavens! erotic pasta & fruity salad cookbook · Holland Tunnel Art Project
Press
- 2019Jacques Roch: Ma Jolie Arteidolia (Ron Morosan)
- 2019The Rich Imagination of Jacques Roch: Sensuousness and Impertinent Play Essay by Dominique Nahas
- 2008Jacques Roch Art in America (Denise Carvalho)
- 1999Jacques Roch Art in America (Jane Harris)
- 1997Jacques Roch Art Press (Robert C. Morgan)
- 1996Jacques Roch ARTnews (Ann Landi)
- 1990Goings On About Town The New Yorker
- 2009Dream of Flying (essay) Denise Carvalho, via jacquesroch.com