Futzie Nutzle: The Missions
Gene
Oliver Gallery is pleased to announce a solo show dedicated to
California artist Futzie Nutzle. “Futzie Nutzle: The Missions” feature a
collection of oil and pastels evocative of the long history of the
twenty one Californian missions built along historic El Camino Real from
1769 to 1823.
Futzie
Nutzle is better known for his minimalist black inked drawings
published in every issue of Rolling Stone from 1975 to 1980-a real job
after exhibits in New York City in the early 70s-, in Tokyo’s Japan
Times from 1985 to the late 90s, in Bay Guardian and Metro Santa Cruz,
among many others.
In
1989, the elusive Nutzle tiptoed away from the social and famed scene
he enjoyed for roughly thirty years in Santa Cruz, preferring now
seclusion and privacy in San Juan Bautista, half an hour away from the
coast.
Since his last exhibit at the Cabrillo College Gallery in the
spring of 2011, his name is associated with the series of vases evolving
into cornucopia that he took to somewhat provocative social, cultural
and political levels.
His series of pastels and oil paintings
representing the California Missions take anyone used to his former
artwork by surprise. And yet, don’t they reflect the Ohio native’s
emotional relationship with California, the state he considers home
since 1965 when he left Cleveland for Santa Cruz? “I’m moving,” Nutzle says, “from statement or cleverness to the purity of painting and spontaneity.”
Four
major colors evoke California: the blue of the sky and of the Pacific
Ocean, the gold of the vegetation during dry season, turning green
during rain season, and the earthy adobe of the early California
architecture.
These four colors are intricately woven in each of
Nutzle’s missions, and yet each canvas and pastel keeps a distinct
uniqueness from one another. Painted at different times of the day, in
different seasons, the missions are shown under California’s
extraordinary light which varies so dramatically and yet so subtly over
the course of a day. The whitish color of the adobe missions, that
distinguishes them from any other religious building in the nation,
appears bland in the work of most artists. Nutzle manages to show
texture to the plain material and each mission becomes the main
protagonist of its unique story. Movement defines California as much as
color. Nutzle’s skilled brush and pastel chalk strokes render a gentle
breeze dancing through the grass or a gust of wind blowing through the
olive pepper trees.
The San Andrea Fault digs its way near the artist’s
studio, and runs along the base of the hill below the mission’s
cemetery.
In
1906, a violent earthquake shook Central California, destroying the
sidewalls of the mission. They were restored in 1976 as well as the
original chapel and the well. Nutzle employs the new additions of
architecture in a style that represents these vintage views.
Nutzle
spent three to five years drawing and painting the missions. His many
pastels and oil paintings of the missions showcase them at different
periods of time, under different angles allowing the viewer to
appreciate the history behind the missions of California. And of course,
the talent of a man who is pursuing his solitary artistic journey,
following his heart more than a trend.
Works from Nutzle have been or are currently shown at:
The Modern Museum of Art (New York City NY), Fresno Art Museum (Fresno CA), Cabrillo College Gallery (Santa Cruz CA), Santa Cruz Art Museum (Santa Cruz CA), Whitney Museum (New York City NY)
Gene Oliver Gallery is
located in the heart of historic San Juan Bautista; the gallery
occupies a small space in the Plaza Market building. All Drawings and
Paintings sold by the gallery are original European and American works
from the 19th and 20th centuries, with a particular emphasis on
Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Pop Art and Abstract Expressionism artists.
Evelyne and Gene, long time art collectors, also occasionally open
their gallery space to a few contemporary artists.
The exhibit “The Missions” will run from 12/2/2011 to 02/29/2012
Opening Reception on 12/10/2011 from 2 :00pm to 5:00pm
Gene Oliver Gallery,
31 Washington St. San Juan Bautista CA 95045
The Gallery is open on Fridays and Saturdays.
