John Zurier's 'West of the Future' Exhibition at Peter Blum Gallery Explores Sensory Evocation

From February 13 to April 4, 2015, Peter Blum Gallery in New York presented 'West of the Future,' a solo exhibition by John Zurier. The show featured paintings that evoke sensory experiences and proximity to other beings through color and materiality. Works like 'Afternoon (S.H.G.)' (2014), a 28-by-35-inch distemper on linen, demonstrate Zurier's technique of offset painted rectangles to assert the objecthood of the support while creating spatial illusion. Another piece, 'Before and After Summer' (2014), is a 78-by-48-inch oil on linen that suggests northern dusk light. Zurier's influences include Pierre Bonnard, Edvard Munch, Raoul De Keyser, and Günter Förg, though he synthesizes these into a singular expression. The artist's annual time in Iceland informs his interest in landscape and light, yet the paintings relate to broader places and lights. Michel Foucault's writing on Manet and Charles Baudelaire's concept of correspondances provide theoretical context for Zurier's approach, which emphasizes evocation over description. The exhibition required prolonged viewing, with colors ranging from greens and pale blues to intense reds and dark blues. Zurier's process involves thin distemper absorbed into linen, registering the fabric's idiosyncrasies through short brushstrokes, sometimes recalling New York rooftop vapors against clouds. The paintings explore paradoxical temporality and existential tensions between life and art.