Posthumous Exhibition Reveals Richard Jordan's Decades of Obscure Abstraction

A review of Richard Jordan's posthumous solo exhibition 'Final Painting' at McLennon Pen Co. in Austin, on view through June 14, 2026. Jordan, an associate professor of art at the University of Texas at Austin for 47 years, was a near-mythic recluse who rarely exhibited. His large abstract oil paintings, spanning from the 1960s to 2020, were discovered by gallerist Jill McLennon after his death when artist Selena Wagner was using his studio. The exhibition includes three bodies of work: zigzags/stripes, subtle hatching/diffused abstraction, and figurative pieces. Paintings are heavily layered, some weighing over 250 pounds, with surfaces built up, scraped down, and repainted over years. The largest work, 'Moby Dick' (c. 1960s–70s), embeds words like 'HOPE' and 'BAD TIMING'. Jordan kept copious journals and sketchbooks; the Blanton Museum has acquired two of them. The gallery may mount a future exhibition of these journals. Almost all works are untitled with generalized dates. The review questions artistic value and recognition, noting the paintings' quality warrants museum acquisition.