Viewing Room Main Site
Skip to content

Peter Blum Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by John Zurier of new paintings and works on paper entitled, The Future of Ice. This is the artist’s sixth solo exhibition with the gallery.

There will be an opening reception on Saturday, September 18 from 1-6pm with the artist, and the exhibition runs through November 13, 2021.


John Zurier’s practice over the past twenty years has resulted in nearly monochromatic, atmospheric paintings and works on paper. Evoking his impressions of ephemeral phenomena including the relationship between color, light, and air, they stem primarily from Zurier’s time in Iceland where he maintains a studio. The distinctive elements of the nation’s delicate and fleeting light, and the qualities of the oftentimes stark climate are conveyed through deep memories of these conditions. Brushwork and the dilute tints and tones of his subdued practice emphasize time and space while underscoring the simple and the imperfect. This is informed by Zurier’s study of traditional Japanese aesthetics including wabi sabi with its notion of the inherent beauty in nature, and therefore in the flawed and the impermanent.

To inquire about available works by the artist, please send us an email here, or click "Inquire" below the images.

Click above for a virtual tour of the exhibition.

Installation of John Zurier, The Future of Ice, 2012, oil on sized Korean paper, 12 sheets total

Installation of John Zurier, The Future of Ice, 2012, oil on sized Korean paper, 12 sheets total

"In 2012, I made a series of 12 paintings on Korean paper that I titled The Future of Ice, a title I had also given to a large painting in 2010. The title comes from the poem 'Shadow from the Future' by Miyazawa Kenji, the Japanese Modernist poet and novelist. During a winter blizzard the poet sees a vision of himself in the figure of a man staggering out of the shadows and smoke of a catastrophic mine cave-in, 'cast from a future of ice.' The poem is a premonition of something inevitable and unknown."

— John Zurier


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire
John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire
 

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

 

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

Inquire

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

 

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

 

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)


John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

The blizzard drives hard
and this morning another catastrophic cave-in
         … Why do they keep blowing
             the frozen whistle?…
Out of the shadows and the horrible smoke
a deathly pale man appears, staggering—
the frightening shadow of myself
cast from a future of ice.

— Miyazawa Kenji, “Shadow from the Future,” 1924

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021


John Zurier
Untitled (Bolagil), 2021
Oil on linen
27 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches (70 x 50 cm)
(JZ21-13)


John Zurier
Untitled (Bolagil), 2021
Oil on linen
27 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches (70 x 50 cm)
(JZ21-13)

Inquire
Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.

Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.

"My paintings are titled after they are finished. Usually, they are reflections on transient themes, the seasons, weather, times of the day. Sometimes they have place names that evoke something of the painting’s source, and also can act for me as a destination locating the painting in a practical, emotional and spiritual way. The paintings come from an intuitive awareness, my understanding of art history and all the associations I carry with me––memories of landscapes, poetry and paintings.

Bolagil is a location and I connect this painting with that place. It is the name of a small river that flows from Mt. Esjan in Kjalarnes, Iceland."

— John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (Umbra), 2021
Oil on linen
21 5/8 x 25 5/8 inches (54.9 x 65 cm)
(JZ21-14)


John Zurier
Untitled (Umbra), 2021
Oil on linen
21 5/8 x 25 5/8 inches (54.9 x 65 cm)
(JZ21-14)

Inquire
Detail of John Zurier, Untitled (Umbra), 2021

Detail of John Zurier, Untitled (Umbra), 2021

"Mr. Zurier’s paintings are acts of full disclosure; you see every decision, gesture and mark that went into their making. This is true of many foundational postwar painters, especially Jackson Pollock and Robert Ryman. But Mr. Zurier’s process is more intuitive and personal. No detail of a painting determines any other; you absorb each, oddity by oddity, fitting them into the whole, and into the experience of really looking."

— Roberta Smith, "Galleries," The New York Times, 2017


John Zurier
Steps and Snow, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 48 inches (198.1 x 121.9 cm)
(JZ21-03)


John Zurier
Steps and Snow, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 48 inches (198.1 x 121.9 cm)
(JZ21-03)

Inquire

John Zurier
Installation of Steps and Snow, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 48 inches (198.1 x 121.9 cm)
(JZ21-03)


John Zurier
Installation of Steps and Snow, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 48 inches (198.1 x 121.9 cm)
(JZ21-03)

Inquire
The first edition of Miyazawa Kenji, Spring & Asura, 1924

The first edition of Miyazawa Kenji, Spring & Asura, 1924

The phenomenon called “I”
is a blue illumination
of the hypothesized, organic alternating current lamp
(a compound of all transparent ghosts)
a blue illumination
of the karmic alternating current lamp
which flickers busily, busily
with landscapes, with everyone
yet remains lit with such assuredness
(the light persists, the lamp lost)
In the twenty-two months, which I perceive
lie in the direction of the past
I have linked these pieces on paper with mineral ink
(they flicker with me,
everyone feels them simultaneously)
each a chain of shadow and light,
mental sketches as they are,
which have been kept until now.

— Miyazawa Kenji, "Proem," Spring & Asura, 1924

Studio, Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.
 

Studio, Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.
 


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Watercolor on laid paper
Sheet: 18 7/8 x 12 5/16 inches (48 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
(JZ21-19)


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Watercolor on laid paper
Sheet: 18 7/8 x 12 5/16 inches (48 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
(JZ21-19)

Inquire


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Watercolor on laid paper
Sheet: 18 7/8 x 12 5/16 inches (48 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
(JZ21-24)


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Watercolor on laid paper
Sheet: 18 7/8 x 12 5/16 inches (48 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
(JZ21-24)

Inquire

"My approach to making paintings on paper with oil paint or watercolor and paintings on canvas is very similar—a fusion of deliberation and immediacy. I want a relatively simple air within a limited field, using color modulation, fluidity, dryness, and density—as well as ambiguity and paradox—to attain a certain mood. Naturalness, intuition and atmosphere are important to me. I want the paintings to be open—as surfaces and symbolically— and to have a calmness, unhurriedness, and quietness about them. Most of all, I want them to breathe."

— John Zurier


John Zurier
Ambiguous Argument about a Spring Cloud, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 64 inches (198.1 x 162.5 cm)
(JZ21-06)
 


John Zurier
Ambiguous Argument about a Spring Cloud, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 64 inches (198.1 x 162.5 cm)
(JZ21-06)
 

Inquire

John Zurier
Installation of Ambiguous Argument about a Spring Cloud, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 64 inches (198.1 x 162.5 cm)
(JZ21-06)


John Zurier
Installation of Ambiguous Argument about a Spring Cloud, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 64 inches (198.1 x 162.5 cm)
(JZ21-06)

Inquire
Portrait of Miyazawa Kenji, c. 1924

Portrait of Miyazawa Kenji, c. 1924

"Color creates the space and meaning of my paintings. Finding the right tone and getting the pitch just right is everything. I think of paintings as tuning forks. The title, 'Ambiguous Argument about a Spring Cloud' is the remarkably precise title of a poem by Miyazawa Kenji, written in 1927. The last line is: 'The muddy, dark mass, / a catenary of warmed water, / that, I must tell you, is love itself –– / the interchange of carbon gas, / mendacious spring sensation, / that, I must tell you, is love itself.'"

— John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (Winter Light), 2021
Oil on linen
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (75 x 55 cm)
(JZ21-10)
 


John Zurier
Untitled (Winter Light), 2021
Oil on linen
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (75 x 55 cm)
(JZ21-10)
 

Inquire
Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, Far Again, Moderna Museet Malmö, Sweden, 2021

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, Far Again, Moderna Museet Malmö, Sweden, 2021

"Zurier generously offers us example after example of painting imbued with exquisitely nuanced demonstrations of its own possibility. Those nuances show in detail why no other medium is capable of providing comparable experience...Zurier's art sheds light on all that came before it but that it is not, while emitting light in corners of abstract painting yet to be fully explored."

— Robert Storr, "John Zurier: Painting Between Autumn and Spring," 2015


John Zurier
For Mark (After Paul Celan), 2020
Glue-size tempera and oil on linen
25 x 29 inches (63.5 x 73.6 cm)
(JZ20-05)


John Zurier
For Mark (After Paul Celan), 2020
Glue-size tempera and oil on linen
25 x 29 inches (63.5 x 73.6 cm)
(JZ20-05)

Inquire
Portrait of Paul Celan, 1963

Portrait of Paul Celan, 1963

"In getting a surface to work, scraping away material, removing color, I’m aiming for sensuality and the immaterial energy at the core of art. 'For Mark (After Paul Celan)' is a double dedication: to my brother Mark and a reflection on a late untitled poem by Paul Celan. 'Chisel off the bolts of light, / Dusk has the swimming word.'"

— John Zurier

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Sheet: 14 1/8 x 10 3/16 inches (35.9 x 25.9 cm)
Frame: 18 9/16 x 14 5/8 inches (47.1 x 37.2 cm)
Watercolor on Arches paper
(JZ21-20)


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Sheet: 14 1/8 x 10 3/16 inches (35.9 x 25.9 cm)
Frame: 18 9/16 x 14 5/8 inches (47.1 x 37.2 cm)
Watercolor on Arches paper
(JZ21-20)

Inquire

"My watercolors and oil on paper paintings are not studies, drafts or sketches for the paintings on canvas. In fact, the paintings often are the source for the works on paper. I think of color as a single element and the less material there is the more color lingers in memory. Watercolor hits the paper in a wonderful way. Working on paper gives me the feeling of traveling lightly. The way the thinness of watercolor or thinned oil paint goes down on thin sheets of paper allows for a simplicity and atmosphere close to emptiness."

— John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (7.5.21), 2021
Watercolor on sized Korean paper
Sheet: 13 5/8 x 8 3/16 inches (34.6 x 20.8 cm)
Frame: 18 9/16 x 14 5/8 inches (47.1 x 37.2 cm)
(JZ21-23)


John Zurier
Untitled (7.5.21), 2021
Watercolor on sized Korean paper
Sheet: 13 5/8 x 8 3/16 inches (34.6 x 20.8 cm)
Frame: 18 9/16 x 14 5/8 inches (47.1 x 37.2 cm)
(JZ21-23)

Inquire


John Zurier
October (29), 2020
Oil on paper
Sheet: 13 3/8 x 9 1/8 inches (34 x 23.2 cm)
Frame: 17 3/4 x 13 1/2 inches (45.1 x 34.3 cm)
(JZ20-08)


John Zurier
October (29), 2020
Oil on paper
Sheet: 13 3/8 x 9 1/8 inches (34 x 23.2 cm)
Frame: 17 3/4 x 13 1/2 inches (45.1 x 34.3 cm)
(JZ20-08)

Inquire
Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021


John Zurier
Untitled (Morning), 2021
Oil on linen
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (75 x 55 cm)
(JZ21-01)


John Zurier
Untitled (Morning), 2021
Oil on linen
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (75 x 55 cm)
(JZ21-01)

Inquire
Iceland, 2020. Photo by John Zurier.

Iceland, 2020. Photo by John Zurier.

“While Zurier’s paintings are often inflected with his experience of the natural world, they are never depictions of it. These unadorned, confident, and even-keeled canvases resist arguing for, or against, any ideology. Instead, their rigor serves to bring us closer to the world.”

— Erik Lindman, "John Zurier with Erik Lindman," The Brooklyn Rail, 2019


John Zurier
Indigo Note, 2021
Ink on lined paper
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (25 x 17.5 cm)
Frame: 14 1/4 x 11 5/16 inches (36.2 x 28.7 cm)
(JZ21-15)


John Zurier
Indigo Note, 2021
Ink on lined paper
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (25 x 17.5 cm)
Frame: 14 1/4 x 11 5/16 inches (36.2 x 28.7 cm)
(JZ21-15)

Inquire


John Zurier
Indigo Note, 2021
Ink on lined paper
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (25 x 17.5 cm)
Frame: 14 1/4 x 11 5/16 inches (36.2 x 28.7 cm)
(JZ21-17)


John Zurier
Indigo Note, 2021
Ink on lined paper
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (25 x 17.5 cm)
Frame: 14 1/4 x 11 5/16 inches (36.2 x 28.7 cm)
(JZ21-17)

Inquire

"The paintings...obliquely derived from the atmospheric conditions of Berkeley, California, and Reykjavík, Iceland—affirm the artist as a deft painter of weather and light. For over two decades, Zurier’s gestural works have made the most of his preferred medium’s essential ingredients: color and surface."

— Andy Martinelli Clark, "Critic's Pick: John Zurier, 'North From Here,' Peter Blum Gallery," Artforum, 2019


John Zurier
Glacier, 2021
Oil on linen
78 3/4 x 55 inches (200 x 140 cm)
(JZ21-05)


John Zurier
Glacier, 2021
Oil on linen
78 3/4 x 55 inches (200 x 140 cm)
(JZ21-05)

Inquire

John Zurier
Installation of Glacier, 2021
Oil on linen
78 3/4 x 55 inches (200 x 140 cm)
(JZ21-05)


John Zurier
Installation of Glacier, 2021
Oil on linen
78 3/4 x 55 inches (200 x 140 cm)
(JZ21-05)

Inquire
Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, The Future of Ice, Peter Blum Gallery, New York, 2021


John Zurier
Rain (After Arthur Dove), 2021
Oil on linen
27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (69.8 x 54.9 cm)
(JZ21-12)


John Zurier
Rain (After Arthur Dove), 2021
Oil on linen
27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (69.8 x 54.9 cm)
(JZ21-12)

Inquire
Arthur Dove, Rain, 1924, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Arthur Dove, Rain, 1924, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

"Of one thing I am certain: From whatever angle one approaches Zurier’s work, it fully merits and amply rewards the close scrutiny it requires."

— Robert Storr, "John Zurier: Painting Between Autumn and Spring," 2015


John Zurier
Kjalarnes, 2021
Glue-size tempera and oil on linen
48 x 30 inches (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
(JZ21-08)


John Zurier
Kjalarnes, 2021
Glue-size tempera and oil on linen
48 x 30 inches (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
(JZ21-08)

Inquire
Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.

Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.

"When I’m painting, I’m looking for a mood which is connected to air, which is connected to light, which is all connected to a color and to the brushwork that delivers it, and then all of that is attached and enmeshed in a surface."

— John Zurier


John Zurier
Honganji (Noh), 2020-2021
Glue-size tempera on linen
48 x 30 inches (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
(JZ21-07)


John Zurier
Honganji (Noh), 2020-2021
Glue-size tempera on linen
48 x 30 inches (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
(JZ21-07)

Inquire
Noh stage, Honganji, Kyoto, Japan

Noh stage, Honganji, Kyoto, Japan

"Simplicity, irregularity, incompletion, emptiness, naturalness are Japanese aesthetic principals that appeal to me, in part because they reverse ideals of Western aesthetics, making what can be seen as a weakness into a strength.

In 2010, I was able to spend a month in Kyoto, meeting with Nihonga painters to learn about traditional Japanese painting materials and the spiritual foundation for their use. While there, I visited Nishi Honganji, the Pure Land Buddhist Temple complex in Kyoto that houses one of Japan’s oldest Noh stages."

— John Zurier


John Zurier
April, 2021
Watercolor on Ingres paper
Sheet: 9 3/8 x 12 5/16 inches (23.8 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 13 7/8 x 16 5/8 inches (35.3 x 42.2 cm)
(JZ21-21)


John Zurier
April, 2021
Watercolor on Ingres paper
Sheet: 9 3/8 x 12 5/16 inches (23.8 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 13 7/8 x 16 5/8 inches (35.3 x 42.2 cm)
(JZ21-21)

Inquire
Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, Matrix 255, Berkeley Art Museum, California, 2014

Installation of the exhibition John Zurier, Matrix 255, Berkeley Art Museum, California, 2014

"Here and there a rectangle, a wedge shape, or a line may hold a composition, but these elements are the most refined of architectural members, meant to hold the veil or trembling membrane of color that is each painting’s keynote."

—  Stephen Westfall, “Slow Painting,” Art in America, 2018

Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.

Iceland. Photo by John Zurier.

John Zurier in his studio, Berkeley, California

John Zurier in his studio, Berkeley, California

John Zurier was born in Santa Monica, CA in 1956. He lives in Berkeley, CA and Reykjavík, Iceland. Zurier received his MFA in painting from the University of California, Berkeley, CA (1984). Selected museum exhibitions include: Moderna Museet Malmö, Sweden (2021); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA (2018); New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM (2016); Colby Museum of Art, Waterville, ME (2015); UC Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley, CA (2014). He has exhibited at the 30th São Paulo Biennial, Brazil (2012); California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art, Santa Ana, CA (2010); 7th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea (2008); Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, England (2003); and the Whitney Biennial, New York, NY (2002). He has been awarded the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship (2010).

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier
Paintings 1981-2014
2015

The first comprehensive overview of the artist's practice.
This book contains 97 full color reproductions of his paintings with an essay by Robert Storr and foreword by Lawrence Rinder.

Click here to purchase a copy.

John Zurier The Future of Ice, 2012

John Zurier
The Future of Ice, 2012
Oil on sized Korean paper
12 sheets total
Each sheet: 18 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches (46.4 x 34.9 cm)
Each frame: 21 5/8 x 17 1/16 inches (54.9 x 43.3 cm)
(JZ12-35)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (Bolagil), 2021
Oil on linen
27 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches (70 x 50 cm)
(JZ21-13)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (Umbra), 2021
Oil on linen
21 5/8 x 25 5/8 inches (54.9 x 65 cm)
(JZ21-14)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Steps and Snow, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 48 inches (198.1 x 121.9 cm)
(JZ21-03)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Watercolor on laid paper
Sheet: 18 7/8 x 12 5/16 inches (48 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
(JZ21-19)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Watercolor on laid paper
Sheet: 18 7/8 x 12 5/16 inches (48 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 22 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches (56.5 x 40 cm)
(JZ21-24)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Ambiguous Argument about a Spring Cloud, 2021
Oil on linen
78 x 64 inches (198.1 x 162.5 cm)
(JZ21-06)
 

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (Winter Light), 2021
Oil on linen
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (75 x 55 cm)
(JZ21-10)
 

 John Zurier


John Zurier
For Mark (After Paul Celan), 2020
Glue-size tempera and oil on linen
25 x 29 inches (63.5 x 73.6 cm)
(JZ20-05)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled, 2021
Sheet: 14 1/8 x 10 3/16 inches (35.9 x 25.9 cm)
Frame: 18 9/16 x 14 5/8 inches (47.1 x 37.2 cm)
Watercolor on Arches paper
(JZ21-20)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (7.5.21), 2021
Watercolor on sized Korean paper
Sheet: 13 5/8 x 8 3/16 inches (34.6 x 20.8 cm)
Frame: 18 9/16 x 14 5/8 inches (47.1 x 37.2 cm)
(JZ21-23)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
October (29), 2020
Oil on paper
Sheet: 13 3/8 x 9 1/8 inches (34 x 23.2 cm)
Frame: 17 3/4 x 13 1/2 inches (45.1 x 34.3 cm)
(JZ20-08)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Untitled (Morning), 2021
Oil on linen
29 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (75 x 55 cm)
(JZ21-01)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Indigo Note, 2021
Ink on lined paper
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (25 x 17.5 cm)
Frame: 14 1/4 x 11 5/16 inches (36.2 x 28.7 cm)
(JZ21-15)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Indigo Note, 2021
Ink on lined paper
Sheet: 9 7/8 x 6 7/8 inches (25 x 17.5 cm)
Frame: 14 1/4 x 11 5/16 inches (36.2 x 28.7 cm)
(JZ21-17)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Glacier, 2021
Oil on linen
78 3/4 x 55 inches (200 x 140 cm)
(JZ21-05)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Rain (After Arthur Dove), 2021
Oil on linen
27 1/2 x 21 5/8 inches (69.8 x 54.9 cm)
(JZ21-12)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Kjalarnes, 2021
Glue-size tempera and oil on linen
48 x 30 inches (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
(JZ21-08)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
Honganji (Noh), 2020-2021
Glue-size tempera on linen
48 x 30 inches (121.9 x 76.2 cm)
(JZ21-07)

 John Zurier


John Zurier
April, 2021
Watercolor on Ingres paper
Sheet: 9 3/8 x 12 5/16 inches (23.8 x 31.3 cm)
Frame: 13 7/8 x 16 5/8 inches (35.3 x 42.2 cm)
(JZ21-21)

*All works are subject to availability; all prices are subject to change.
© 2021 Blumarts, Inc.

Back To Top