I have been deconstructing my past approach. While my work remains rooted in the core concepts that have long driven it. I’m reaching into new territory. I’m turning to the earth beneath us not merely for resonance, but for meaning: meaning embedded in the physical substance of the subsoil, in the histories it holds, and in the cultural significance of the places from which it is gathered, as well as places that have personally touched me.

What does this mean in practice? Quite simply, I’m making paint with earth—subsoil, sediment, and bedrock layers—collected from locations around the world that carry personal, cultural, or historical weight. These are places that hold meaning for me on an intimate level, but also sites with broader resonance: sacred geographies, contested landscapes, places with layered human narratives.

By incorporating the earth directly into the work, I’m collapsing the distance between subject and material. The land is no longer just represented—it becomes the work itself. This process allows me to engage with place not as a backdrop, but as an active participant in the piece. The color, texture, and chemistry of each site become a kind of visual language—each pigment carrying the trace of its origin, both physically and metaphorically.

In this way, I invite viewers to consider the deep time of the land, the stories it holds, and our relationship to it—not as something separate from us, but as something we are continuously shaping and shaped by.

James Austin Murray is a graduate of Parsons School of Design, New York, NY (1992). Murray opened and managed the Hartnett-Murray Gallery and The Markham-Murray Gallery in Tribeca, New York in the early eighties. His works has been exhibited throughout the US and abroad. He is a recipient of the Dedalus Foundation Fellowship Award for residency at The Vermont Studio Center, VT and has completed residencies at The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild in Woodstock, NY and Bermis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, NE. Murray’s work is found in numerous private and public collections such Weisman Collection (Los Angeles, CA), Sofitel (Philadelphia, PA), Hotel Palomar (Philadelphia, PA), Four Seasons Hotel (Washington, D.C.), Omni Hotel (Nashville, TN) and Tom Ford (Designer).  Murray’s studio is in Piermont, NY outside of New York City.