James Austin Murray “Mystery of Light”
Lyons Wier Gallery
This event has ended.
“For the past 20 years, James Austin Murray has worked through many different approaches in his art - from tightly rendered graphite cityscapes to pure white abstraction, works on paper, metal, canvas and board, flat and multi-dimensional. It is through these various incarnations that he has settled upon a pure black palette driven by an automatic and deftly intuitive hand. Murray’s commitment to his painting process, his adoration of pigment and its possibilities is extraordinary. I believe Murray is at the apex his formative, and dare I say narrative, synthesis.
One could easily find a myriad of art historical diatribes about Abstraction, Abstract Expressionism, Action Painting, Conceptualism, Minimalism and Monochrome Painting to parse together a press release demonstrating the historical similarities within the contemporary context of Murray’s work. Yes, black can represent all the colors in the spectrum, and its absence; yes, the way that light is absorbed and reflected off the surface constantly activates the inanimate surface of the painting; yes, you can feel the artist’s hand at work and yes, there are countless other action painters, old and new, that have knocked on this door before.
But, I posit that Murray does something ingenious; he has let go of all the courting formalities between an artist and their canvas. He has accepted the conditions of this relationship and has found love along the way. Together, they have developed that intimate and affectionate vocabulary that couples privately use. His paintings exude this joyous union, and it is clearly communicated whilst in their company.” - Michael Lyons Wier.
Media
Schedule
from April 03, 2014 to May 03, 2014
Opening Reception on 2014-04-03 from 18:00 to 20:00