For years, my work has stayed rooted in a core set of concerns. Now I'm deconstructing that approach, reaching into new territory, and turning to earth beneath us and the meaning embedded in the physical substance of subsoil, in the histories it holds, and in the cultural weight of the places it comes from.

In practice, this means I make paint from earth. Earth that I collect from locations around the world that carry personal, cultural, and historical significance to me.

By working the earth directly into the painting, I collapse the distance between subject and material. The land is no longer represented—it becomes the work. Place stops functioning as backdrop and starts acting as participant.

The color, texture, chemistry, and hue of each site form a visual structure of their own. Every pigment carries the trace of its origin, physically and metaphorically. Dirt and earth are not separate from us, but something humanity has continuously shaped and is shaped by in return.

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 late 90’s. 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 the Hudson Valley of New York.