ARTIST'S OFFICIAL BIO                                                                                                    http://josephmcgurl.com/about                                               

 

 

 

Joseph McGurl's 

OFFICIAL WEBSITE  

                                                       http://josephmcgurl.com/                                                

 

By permission of the artist, The Cyber Art Show is pleased to feature the second of two 12-piece exhibitions of works by contemporary American landscape painter Joseph McGurl (born 1958 in Boston, Massachusetts). 

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Joseph grew up working with his father, James McGurl, who is a muralist and his most-influential teacher.  He graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and also studied in England and Italy.  After college, he worked for a period of time as a yacht captain, sailing the east coast from Maine to the Caribbean while continuing to observe and interpret in paint the natural world.   In search of a more solid training in drawing, he sought out Robert Cormier, a devotee of the French Academy methods, and for two years studied sight size figure drawing under him. 

 

Joseph synthesizes academic figure drawing skills with sight-size landscape painting resulting in a new and unique approach to addressing the landscape.  Joseph's interest in modern physics and the nature of reality combined with the spirituality he finds in nature has resulted in a thoroughly modern approach to style and subject.  He is one of the few contemporary realists who does not, for philosophical reasons, include the use of photography in his art.  He is a devoted plein air painter which allows him to connect with the landscape on a profound level and gain a deep understanding of his subject.  Rather than relying on photography, this method gives him the freedom to create paintings based on his imagination, memory, and observation.  Although the objects depicted in the paintings are elements of the landscape and have a deep personal meaning to him, of equal importance is an exploration of light, form, space, and color interpreted through paint.

 

Joseph is unquestionably one of the most sought after and influential landscape artists currently working in America.  This has been confirmed by his inclusion in several important museum shows and his successful relationship with some of the country's leading galleries.  He has been designated a Living Master by the Art Renewal Center, is a Signature Member of the Plein Air Painters of America, an Elected Member of the Guild of Boston Artists,  was a Copley 

Master with the Copley Society of Boston, is a Fellow of the American Society of Marine Artist, and has won significant awards for his artwork.   Additionally, he has been the subject of numerous book and magazine articles, and he conducts workshops and presents lectures throughout the country.

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 Recent and Upcoming Exhibitions and Events

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• Davis, Demers, and McGurl, Spirit and Matter: Contemporary American Luminism, Collins Galleries, Orleans,  MA --August 20 - September 9, 2016 

• Steamboat Springs Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO--July 2016

• Eiteljorg Museum, Quest for the West,  Indianapolis, IN--September 2016

• Art Renewal Center International Salon Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY--January 18-February 4, 2016

 

Selected Exhibition History

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• -Museu Europeu d’Art Modern, Barcelona, Spain—Art Renewal Center - International Salon 2015

• New Britain Museum of American Art, CT—Hamm Collection 2015

• Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, IN—Quest for the West 2014, 2015

• California Center for the Arts Escondido, CA- Legacy of the Land, 2015

• Cape Cod Museum of Art—Plein Air Painters of America 2015 Evolutionary Realism:  Landscapes by Joseph McGurl  1997 

• St. Botolph Club of Boston—Joseph McGurl Solo Show 2015 Joseph McGurl Retrospective: Paintings from the Past Decade 1999

• Salmagundi Club of NY—American Masters 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2104, 2015

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Solo and Small Group Gallery Shows 

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• Cavalier Galleries, NY, NY—2015 

• Hammer Galleries, NY, NY—2008, 2006, 2005, 2002 

• John Pence Gallery, San Francisco—2013, 2005, 2002, 2000

• The Guild of Boston Artists- 2011

• Tree’s Place Gallery, MA—2010, 2005, 2002, 2000, 1998, 1995, 1990, 1989