River Series New Paintings by Jim Schantz
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RIVER SERIES NEW PAINTINGS BY JIM SCHANTZ PUCKER GALLERY • BOSTON Summer Dusk All works are oil on canvas. FRONT COVER: 62 x 56” Summer, Sunset JMS645 42 x 68” JMS649 nineteen RIVER SERIES NEW PAINTINGS BY JIM SCHANTZ “Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike.1” - JOHN MUIR (1838-1910), AMERICAN CONSERVATIONIST AND NATURALIST mong the elements of nature, water is es- As a landscape artist, Schantz has traditionally fo- pecially curative. For artist Jim Schantz, cused on the rich natural environment of the Berk- the river is a daily companion with whom shire region he calls home. Throughout the years, his he enjoys an intimate and nuanced relationship. Behind thoughtful eye has often turned to the river (both the his home in Stockbridge, MA, the Housatonic River Housatonic and the Green Rivers are in his neighbor- gently runs amid the brambles and bushes. As a painter, hood), but he has also been drawn to nature’s other mul- Schantz has explored the river’s abundant facets as it titudinous bounty (such as mountains, hills, trees and evolves throughout the day and year. More recently he valleys). In recent years, his increased participation in has become an activist, tirelessly working to protect this river conservation and education has manifested itself in resource and keep his community mindful of its value. a passionate focus on the river in his work. That focus He observes the river, celebrates it, thrives off of it, and on a single subject has brought him intensely close to protects it. This rapport between Schantz and the river it, and the river has revealed itself to be endlessly full of is the embodiment of John Muir’s philosophy. Through inspiration. The artist never tires of the river; rather, its his artwork, we too can allow the nourishing beauty of power multiplies and his desire to paint it anew grows. nature into our daily lives. Is this because the river—carved by the constant fl ux of THREE water—is perpetually changing? As Heraclitus (540-480 recreational use of the river is on the rise. BC) wrote: “no man ever steps in the same river twice, for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), who it is not the same river and he is not the same man.2” used the Housatonic as his muse in the 19th century long Three years ago, Schantz joined the Stockbridge Con- before environmental conservation as we know it today servation Commission, a local arm of the Massachusetts existed, wrote in Hyperion: A Romance: “but does it not Cultural Commis- often offend you to sion responsible for hear people speaking protecting the state’s of Art and Nature as wetlands. The com- opposite and discor- mittee (a six-member dant things? Surely volunteer group made nothing can be more up of Schantz, an false. Nature is a environmental law- revelation of God; yer, and local busi- art is a revelation nessmen) is charged of Man.3” The in- with oversight when trinsic connection construction occurs Jim Schantz draws in the river’s vicinity between nature and and with community art serve as a fi tting education and out- defense for Longfel- Summer, Evening Refl ection reach. Ever since the 18 x 22” low’s argument. For JMS648 area was settled in the Schantz, the river is 18th century, the Housatonic has been harnessed as an a place of meditation. It is as much a refuge for him as invaluable resource but has consequently been plagued it is for the herons and eagles that now thrive there. His by pollution. In the latter half of the 20th century, in the art refl ects the contemplative and enduring timelessness face of environmental carelessness and general neglect, of the river and allows us to escape the banalities of ev- the river lost much of its wildlife and its recreational eryday life and glimpse the divinity of which Longfellow use waned. However, through conservation efforts like speaks. In the serene work Summer, Dusk (JMS645), the those of the Stockbridge Commission, much of the wild- trees refl ecting in the water’s surface barely ripple and life that had virtually disappeared has been restored and the pink light refracts behind the clouds, conjuring the FOUR warmth and relaxation of a summer day. The painting is and allows the artist more control over how light moves a salve to the hectic pace of life. around the painting. Schantz begins with an underpaint- Schantz’s recent attention to the river as a subject ing of color (which upon fi rst glance might seem discor- marries well with his shift from pastel to oil as a me- dant with the colors of the fi nished painting) that lays dium. Traditionally a pastel artist, Schantz still fi nds the groundwork for recreating the nuanced colors and inspiration in the im- light shifts that exist mediacy and physical- in nature. Schantz is ity of working with a master of sfumato, a pastel. Over the past word coined during two years, however, he the Italian Renais- has embarked on a new sance to describe a method using oil—a style without harsh slower and more stud- lines or stark distinc- ied approach—that he tions of color. Rather, feels more persuasively layered shades and gra- communicates the riv- dations of darks and er’s qualities. The li- lights blend together quidity of oil paint has seamlessly. This lay- a kinship with water ering sets the atmo- that makes the paint- spheric tone of the ing feel authentic. In painting—whether it the time-consuming is bright or brooding, process in which he Magenta Sunset still or stormy. 20 x 20” layers pigment and JMS650 Because all of Jim glaze, Schantz slowly Schantz’s work in this coaxes the image out of the canvas. The process of glaz- exhibition is about a single theme—the river— we can ing was developed by the Venetians during the Italian enjoy them by degrees and languish in the small chang- Renaissance and 17th-century Dutch painters like Ver- es of light and color that, when summed up, make for meer are masters of the technique. Layering pigment and dramatically different scenes. The artist may have been tinted glaze over time creates unparalleled luminosity sitting in the exact same spot when he painted both Sum- FIVE mer, Evening Refl ection (JMS648) and Summer, Afternoon abstract conceptual experiences. Though Magenta Sunset Refl ection (JMS651), but his deft manipulation of layers, (JMS650) depicts a specifi c and beautiful place and time, lights, and tones form two completely different paint- it is also a study of the color magenta. It is an abstract ings. In Evening Refl ection, a small shaft of silver light ex- examination of the reds, oranges, and blues that, when udes from the horizon and refl ects off the water while all optically combined, create what we call magenta. The around the deep purples, blues, and reds of the summer painting embodies what magenta would feel like if we night abound. In Afternoon Refl ection, no less alive, the could touch it—warm, spirited, and a little wild. bright rays of the mid-day sun cast about the river and Meandering through this collection of river paintings result in lighter hues and more distinct shapes. by Jim Schantz, we are transported to a place to “play in Stylistically, Schantz harmoniously blends Abstrac- and pray in,” just as John Muir encouraged us to do. From tion with Realism. Those who have visited the Berk- the gentility of the morning light to sunset’s ferocious shires know these places and have personal association fi re, from purple’s heat to blue’s freshness, water sees all with them. Even for those who have not been to that re- of nature and mirrors it for us. Each work by Jim Schantz gion, these familiar and recognizable places elicit strong in turn captures a little of nature’s healing power. His un- emotional responses. In the large painting After the spoiled scenes belie man’s existence and invite us into soli- Storm (Summer, Dusk) (JMS635), a summer sunset puts tary musing. Despite his work to combat the ill-effects of on an elaborate light show as vivid refl ections dance off man on the river, Schantz elects to show us pristine beauty the water. Schantz preserves an instant which moments in lieu of confrontational images. In this way, we are not later will dissipate into a new fl ash of beauty. Darkness guiltily called to action but are viscerally inspired to do will then fall and the moment will be lost; we relish in our part in maintaining the river’s grandeur. its capture because it is a moment we have all experi- —JEANNE V. KOLES enced and wished we could hold on to. Beyond being Jeanne Koles is an independent consultant who does writing, design, realistic interpretations, however, his paintings are also and project management for museums and the cultural sector. 1 Muir, John. The Yosemite (1912) 2 Heraclitus. On the Universe 3 Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth. Hyperion: A Romance (1839) SIX Summer, Afternoon Refl ection 22 x 30” JMS651 SEVEN Summer Morning 16 x 20” JMS638 September, Afternoon 12 x 12” JMS637 EIGHT Midsummer Refl ection 36 x 36” JMS643 NINE August, Dusk 42 x 36” JMS646 TEN July, Afternoon Refl ection 42 x 36” JMS647 ELEVEN Violet Dawn Refl ection 36 x 48” JMS652 TWELVE June, Dawn Refl ection 36 x 60” JMS653 THIRTEEN Evening Refl ection 36 x 60” JMS644 FOURTEEN Post Storm Evening 20 x 20” JMS642 FIFTEEN JIM SCHANTZ BIOGRAPHY 1955 Born in Perth Amboy, NJ EXHIBITIONS 2010 Pucker Gallery, Boston, MA EDUCATION Pamatnik Terezin, Czech Republic 1981 MFA, University of California, Davis, CA 2009 Sanford Smith Gallery, Great Barrington, MA 1980 Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Argazzi