ART-PRESENTATION: John Zurier-Far Again

John Zurier’s reductive, near-monochrome paintings offer renewed testimony to the artist’s dedication to color, the material fact of painting and painting’s history. His soft-hued abstract printings play at crossing the line into representation. Filled with the sensation of nature, they evoke the silence of luminous weather and the pulse of a human touch.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Moderna Museet Archive

A painter of abstraction, John Zurier, from Berkeley, California, paints on canvases that are handmade and imported from Russia.  He likes these canvases because they are rough and inconsistent with sculptural qualities that he enhances with his paint applications that range from multi-layered to very thin. The works in John Zurier’s exhibition “Far Again”  are from recent years. Many of them were made in Iceland in 2020. This is John Zurier’s first solo exhibition at a museum outside the US. At first glance, John Zurier’s paintings give the impression of being monochrome, but on closer examination they reveal rich nuances and modulations in color and treatment. This is a subtle, finely tuned and consistent abstract painting where nothing is superfluous. Zurier’s painting leads us into an enchanting world of dreams and memories – and then back to a here and now. The paintings can evoke a sense of summer, a soft breeze, a scent or a mood by the ocean. John Zurier paints on different types of grounds. In the dialogue between canvas and paint, the artist accentuates marks in the fabric or makes lines that relate to and enhance the picture format. The paintings emerge in a meditative process that demands the artist’s attention and takes time. Zurier’s method is contemplative, with every aspect of the materials and process selected for their effect. He considers both the physical presence of the object being created as well as the nature of the image experienced. All elements are important: the cloth support, its weave and weight (whether canvas or linen) and how it is mounted on its wood support; the support frame itself, its size, proportion and profile; and the desired medium to carry his pigments, whether oil, glue-size tempera (distemper) or, even at times, watercolor; and the technique of applying the pigment. A balance of intuition and reasoning guides his composition. Zurier’s​ ​period​ ​in​ ​Iceland​ ​can​ ​be​ ​perceived​ ​in​ ​his​ ​paintings​ ​as​ ​careful​ ​landscape impressions,​ ​with​ ​titles​ ​such​ ​as​ ​”Helgafell”​ ​and​ ​”Héraðsdalur.”​ ​Perhaps​ ​we​ ​find suggestions​ ​of​ ​snow,​ ​stars​ ​in​ ​the​ ​night​ ​-​ ​but​ ​never​ ​direct,​ ​never​ ​concrete.​ ​The​ ​thin​ ​layers​ ​of  paint​ ​allow​ ​Zurier​ ​to​ ​see​ ​landscape​ ​and​ ​nature​ ​through​ ​a​ ​veil​ ​of​ ​colour;​ ​instead​ ​of​ ​light bringing​ ​forth​ ​the​ ​form​ ​of​ ​the​ ​landscape,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​the​ ​colour​ ​that​ ​sucks​ ​light​ ​in​ ​from​ ​the​ ​room​ ​in which​ ​one​ ​stands​ ​-​ ​he​ ​uses​ ​the​ ​colour​ ​as​ ​an​ ​optical​ ​sponge.​ ​It​ ​creates​ ​a​ ​strange translucency​ ​when​ ​the​ ​light​ ​enters​ ​the​ ​painting,​ ​and​ ​it​ ​contributes​ ​to​ ​the​ ​ephemeral character​ ​of​ ​these​ ​works.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​paradox,​ ​of​ ​course,​ ​because​ ​just​ ​when​ ​I​ ​think​ ​these​ ​fields of​ ​colour​ ​will​ ​collapse,​ ​they​ ​draw​ ​me​ ​into​ ​a​ ​world​ ​of​ ​remarkable​ ​rich,​ ​spatial,​ ​textural​ ​and emotional​ ​depth. It​ ​is​ ​the​ ​light​ ​abstracted​ ​in​ ​these​ ​distinctive​ ​colours,​ ​more​ ​than​ ​his​ ​experience​ ​of​ ​the​ ​physical landscape.​ ​So​ ​Zurier​ ​demonstrates​ ​that​ ​his​ ​painting​ ​is​ ​equally​ ​subtle​ ​meta-painting,​ ​which​ ​displays​ ​the​ ​painterly​ ​devices​ ​that​ ​give​ ​the​ ​transient​ ​quality​ ​its​ ​distinctive weight​ ​and​ ​materiality,​ ​colour​ ​balance,​ ​and​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​the​ ​painting’s​ ​own​ ​existential pursuit.​ ​A​ ​landscape​ ​painting​ ​without​ ​landscape;​ ​it​ ​is​ ​ambiguity’s​ ​enigma.

Photo: John Zurier, Fårö, 2018, Photo: Nina Zurier

Info: Curator: Iris Müller-Westermann, Moderna Museet Malmö, Ola Billgrens plats 2–4, Malmö, Duration: 29/5-26/9/2021, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00-17:00, Thu 11:00-19:00 (pre-booked ticket is required, book here), www.modernamuseet.se