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JAMES AUSTIN MURRAY
Hue, Brightness, and Saturation
bruno david gallery
James Austin Murray
Hue, Brightness, and Saturation
August 27 - October 16, 2021
Bruno David Gallery
7513 Forsyth Boulevard
Saint Louis, Missouri 63105, U.S.A.
info@brunodavidgallery.com
www.brunodavidgallery.com
Founder/Director: Bruno L. David
This catalogue was published in conjunction with the online exhibition “
Hue, Brightness, and Saturation” at Bruno David Gallery.
Editor: Bruno L. David
Catalogue Designer: David Luo
Designer Assistant: Claudia R. David
Printed in USA
All works courtesy of James Austin Murray and Bruno David Gallery
Photographs by Bruno David Gallery
Cover image:
Hue, Brightness, and Saturation (Installation view) 2021
First Edition
Copyright ©2022 James Austin Murray and Bruno David Gallery All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written permission of Bruno David Gallery
CONTENTS PROLOGUE BY BRUNO L. DAVID CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY
PROLOGUE
BY BRUNO L. DAVID
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Bruno David is pleased to present Hue, Brightness, and Saturation, an exhibition by New York-based artist James Austin Murray. This is his third solo exhibition with the gallery.
James Murray shared an insight into this show revealing, “After a year of disruption and unforgettable change, I have found myself rethinking my life and my work like so many of us have. One thing I’ve decided after this year of reflection is to share more of my work and studio practice.”
The Undercolor works have until now remained in the studio. They are made as their own explorations and have served as inspiration for my other paintings. In them, I find moments and elements that I want to explore in my other work, through the meditative practice of the Light Black series. This exhibition is composed of works made in tandem, with the title of the show referring to this dialog between the Undercolor and the Light Black works. For me, these two series are akin to two chapters in the same book.” Each piece shares scientific and poetic attributes, all in different ways. James Austin Murray is excited to have his first exhibition of the Undercolor works here at Bruno David Gallery, as he has envisioned for some time now.
As a NYC firefighter during the September 11th attack in New York City, Murray paints on how his life was informed following the atrocity of that day. His current work is both about the paint and the light reflected on and within it. Murray states, “Sometimes the dark is where you find the best surprises.”
James Austin Murray lives and works in New York City. Murray was a firefighter for over a decade, working in the South Bronx, Harlem, the West Village, and on the Lower East Side. He taught at Parsons School of Design, New York.
Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. I am deeply grateful to David Luo, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Invaluable gallery staff support for the exhibition was provided by Bonnie Dana, Naomi Yu, Arthur Baue, Alex McLaughlin, Nina Huang, and Grace Ray.
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CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION
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Expansion 2020
Oil on board 48 x 48 inches (121.9 × 121.9 cm)
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Honey Ghost 2020
Oil on board 36 x 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
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Feeding Fire
2020
Oil on board 48 x 48 inches (121.9 × 121.9 cm)
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On the Radio 2020
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Oil on board 48 x 48 inches (121.9 × 121.9 cm)
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Wiggle in Fate 2020
Oil on board 36 x 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
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20
My Star 2020
Oil on board 36 x 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
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City Sunrise 2020
Oil on board 36 x 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
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Under the River 2020
Oil on board 36 x 36 inches (91.4 × 91.4 cm)
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Undercolor 29
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 23
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 24
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
2020
30 x 30 inches
(76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 15
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches (76.2 ×
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Undercolor 27
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
76.2 cm)
30 x 30 inches
(76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 14
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 18
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
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Undercolor 4
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 31
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches
(76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 22
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 30
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches
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Undercolor 6
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
(76.2 × 76.2 cm)
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 25
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
30 x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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Undercolor 20
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
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Undercolor 19
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
30 x 30 inches
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Undercolor 5
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
(76.2 × 76.2 cm)
30
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Undercolor 13
2020
Acrylic and oil on wood panel
x 30 inches (76.2 × 76.2 cm)
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JAMES AUSTIN MURRAY
Born: 1969
Lives and works in New York City, New York.
EDUCATION
B.F.A. Parson School of Design, New York, NY
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 Bruno David Gallery, “Hue, Brightness, and Saturation”, St. Louis, MO, September (catalogue)
2020 Bruno David Gallery, “Fusing Time”, St. Louis, MO, March (catalogue)
2019 Opera Gallery, “Curved Lines” (with Benoit Lemercier), Monaco Lyons Wier Gallery, ”In Tandem,” (with Mark Zimmerman), New York, NY
Madison Gallery, “Black Desert,” (with Mareo Rodrigues), Solana Beach, CA
2018 Bruno David Gallery, “Distant Stars”, St. Louis, MO, May (catalogue)
Lyons Wier, “Future Proof”, New York, NY
REDSEA Gallery, “Convergent Evolution”, Singapore
Madison Gallery, “Light on Black’, La Jolla, CA
2017 Gilman Contemporary, “No Vacancy”, Ketchum, ID
Lyons Wier Gallery, Scope New York, New York, NY
2016 Lyons Wier Gallery, “Super Massive Black Hole”, New York, NY
2015 Asia Contemporary Art Show, Hong Kong, China
2014 Art Market Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY (Lyons Wier Gallery, NY)
Lyons Wier Gallery, “Mystery of Light”, New York, NY
Asia Contemporary Art Show, Hong Kong, China
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2013 Narthex Gallery at St. Peters, “Ides of March”, New York, NY
2007 Tree’s Whisper, Dam-Stuhltrager, Brooklyn, NY
2005 Dam-Stuhltrager, “Over-On”, Brooklyn, NY
2004 International Gallery of Contemporary Art, Anchorage, AK
2001 L.I.C.K. Ltd. Fine Art, “On and Off White”, Long Island City, NY
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2021 Bilingual: Abstract & Figurative, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO (catalogue)
2020 NOIRE / NOIR, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
OVERVIEW_2020, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2019 LINES, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
The Art Student’s League, New York Centric, curated by James Little, New York, NY
OVERVIEW_2019, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Bergen County PAC Gallery, A Short Survey of Contemporary Abstraction, curator
2018
OVERVIEW_2018, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
Chromatopia, Tacit Gallery, Abbotsford, Vic, Australia
2017 Luminance, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
Stroke of Genius, Lyons Wier Annex, New York, NY
2016
Walking Slow, Brooklyn Workshop Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Palms Springs Fine Art Fair, Palm Springs, CA (Lyons Wier Gallery, NY)
Forethought, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2015
Lost Cat, Art in the Age of Social Media, The Cape Cod Museum of Art, Dennis, MA
Pulse NY, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
Governors Island Art Fair, New York, NY
Unlimited Potential, (curator), Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
Market Art + Design, Bridgehampton, NY, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2014 Art Miami, Lyons Wier Gallery, Miami, FL
Downtown Art Fair, New York, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
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2014 MIA in MIA, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
The New Artist Preview, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Desert Springs, CA
2013 Aqua Art Miami, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
1stDibs, New York Design Center, New York, NY
2012 Governors Island Art Fair, New York, NY
2011 Highline Open Studio Preview Exhibition, New York, NY
Dia: Beacon Staff Exhibition, Marion Royale Gallery, Beacon, NY
2008 American Lifescape, DBA256, Pomona, CA
NYU Small Works Show, 80 WSE, New York, NY
Panorama Project 3, Jonathan LeVine Gallery, New York, NY
2006 Scope Miami, Dam-Stuhltrager, Miami, FL
2005 Scope Miami, Dam-Stuhltrager, Miami, FL
New Artist Show, Bettcher Gallery, Miami, FL
Le Papier, Gescheidle Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA
Scope New York, Lyons Wier Gallery, New York, NY
2002 The Panorama Project, The Front Room, Brooklyn, NY
2001
The Exquisite Day Project, Plus Ultra, Brooklyn, NY
2000 Flowers and Configurations, Angel International Art, East Hampton, NY
1999 Sex, Death, and Religion, Gershwin Hotel Gallery, New York, NY
Size Matters, Gale Gates et al., Brooklyn, NY
1996 Places People, 313 Gallery, New York, NY
1992 Human Condition, 313 Gallery, New York, NY
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AWARDS & RESIDENCIES
2012 Bemis Center for Contemporary Art
2011 Nominee, United States Artist Grant
Dedalus Foundation Fellowship Award for residency at VSC
Residency at The Vermont Studio Center
Artist in Residence at The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Tom Ford, Designer Four Seasons Hotel, Washington D.C.
Omni Hotel, Nashville, TN
Sofitel, Philadelphia, PA
Hotel Palomar, Philadelphia, PA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Centurion Magazine (Cover), Winter 2021
“James Austin Murray”, by Eric Minh Swenson, Film, 2021
“James Austin Murray”, Wall Street International, March 2020
“Future Black”, Luxe Interiors Magazine, April 2019
Interview, Artists Voice Podcast, February 2019
“Art and Life with James Austin Murray”, Voyage ATL, October 2018
HEC-TV, Interview/Film, by Kerry Marks, April 20218
“Atelier Series: James Austin Murray”, by Eric Minh Swenson, Film, 2018
“James Austin Murray”, Wall Street International, April 2018
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Tax Collection, Interview, September 2018
“Chromatopia: A History of Color”, by Louise Blyton & David Coles. Thames & Hudson. May 2018
Vasari 21, Under the Radar, James Austin Murray, January 2018
6 Exhibits to see this fall, San Diego Magazine, August 2017
The Culture Trip, August 2015
Arte Fuse: Picture This, United in Black done by James Austin Murray, April 2014
Hump Day Hot Seat: James Austin Murray, April 2013
Painters-Table.com, May 2013
Studio Critical interview March-April 2013
Artorbiter.com, April 2013
Artorbiter.com, April 2012
Artinfo.com, Miami Gallery Roundup, April 2006
New York Daily News, featured artist “Open Studios”, September 2005
Artnet, Dateline Brooklyn, February 2004
The Tribeca Trib, Tribeca Personal, November 2001
ABC Evening News, Interview and discussion of exhibition, September 2001
New York Post, Page Six mention of opening that evening, September 2001
Bloomberg Business News, Interview: “Silent Auction Fundraiser for The Burn Center Foundation, November 2000
Arts4all.com, “Murray headed east, an American in Kosice”, Summer 2000
The Tribeca Trib, “Out of the Flames” review by Jeanne C. Wilkinson, June 2000
New York Contemporary Art Report, review of “Hello Goodbye”, May 2000
NY1, Television interview and review of Paint Club project, March 2000
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ARTISTS
Sara Ghazi Asadollahi
Laura Beard
Heather Bennett
Lisa K. Blatt
Michael Byron
Bunny Burson
Judy Child
Carmon Colangelo
Alex Couwenberg
Terry James Conrad
Jill Downen
Damon Freed
Yvette Drury Dubinsky
Douglass Freed
Richard Hull
Kelley Johnson
Chris Kahler
Leslie Laskey Estate
Justin Henry Miller
James Austin Murray
Yvonne Osei
Patricia Olynyk
Charles P. Reay
Daniel Raedeke
Tom Reed
Frank Schwaiger
Char Schwall
Christina Shmigel
Thomas Sleet
Buzz Spector
Monika Wulfers
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