A Closer Look: Donald Jurney
Fall is in the air, and we are pleased to announce that the first exhibition of the season will be a solo show at our Newbury Street gallery for Donald Jurney, a highly renowned American landscape painter. Jurney has had a strong exhibition history over the course of his professional career, yet his shows have been almost exclusively in New York and San Francisco. We are very pleased to present this fine artist to Boston collectors.
In anticipation of his upcoming show, let’s take a closer look at one of Donald Jurney’s paintings…
View available inventory of Donald Jurney
detail from 'Autumn on the Housatonic'
"Autumn on the Housatonic" 36" x 60"
The image above was chosen to highlight Jurney’s technical virtuosity for those who have not had the opportunity to view his work in person. The painting’s overall effect is of serenity and beauty, while capturing a specific time of day, weather, and other atmospheric effects. Under close observation of his work you see modern handling of paint. Scumbling and scraping unite in the creation of traditional images. Thirty plus years of experimentation and experience provide Jurney with a level of expertise that allows him to successfully combine dry brush, impasto, and glazing techniques seemingly effortlessly. Below is an even closer look at a section of the painting “Autumn on the Housatonic.”
detail from 'Autumn on the Housatonic'
The overall feel of Jurney’s paintings is easily sensed. One immediately recalls paintings from the French and American Barbizon schools. He captures the glimmer of light shimmering through leaves dancing in the breeze, reminiscent of Corot.
Jurney allows his burnt umber and ultramarine underpainting to come through his later layers of paint, grounding the imagery, and giving his scenes a firm sense of place. He then intuitively knows just the right spot to lay a stroke of lively orange, scumble a highlight across the water’s surface, or dabble in brilliant greens.
His paintings show the effect of his many years of living and painting in the countryside of southwest France. Studying the artistic history of a region can inform an artist’s palette as much as working from observation can. Donald Jurney also spent many years in the Hudson River Valley, the Berkshires, Virginia, Great Britain and presently resides on Boston’s North Shore.
The new works for this show capture the essence of the New England landscape that Jurney is now so intently studying. The paintings currently in our galleries are so effective at making you feel like you have experienced the scene, you start to wonder if you have been in that exact spot. However, many of his paintings are an amalgamation of notebook sketches, plein air paintings, and memories. We eagerly anticipate the arrival of these new paintings of the Bay State’s coasts, marshlands, and rolling fields. This new inspiration for the artist, and our familiarity with his subject matter will make this an exhibition of truly special paintings.
View available inventory of Donald Jurney
Donald Jurney: Recent Works
Boston Gallery, Oct 8 – 28, 2009
