James Jarvaise

James Jarvaise (February 16, 1924 – June 19, 2015 [1]) was an American painter based in Southern California.[2][3]

James Jarvaise
James Jarvaise in studio in 2010
Born	James Jarvaise (1924-02-16)February 16, 1924 New York City, NY, U.S.
Died	June 19, 2015(2015-06-19) (aged 91) Santa Barbara, California
Nationality	American
Known for	Painting, Collage
Notable work	Hudson River, Man in The Room, Collage, Watercolor
Movement	Abstract, Modern Art

Painting from Hudson River series (1959). Los Angeles. This image depicties James Jarvaise' earlier work that was included in the "Sixteen Americans" exhibition.

James Jarvaise Man in the Room Burlap, 2011. Burlap Series " James almost sculptural use of Burlap and Mastic on Canvas created these Rich textured collages.

Background

Jarvaise was born in New York City, but later lived in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and eventually moved to Los Angeles in 1946. He was educated at Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, PA; Ecole Dart/ Biarritz, France with Fernand Léger; earned a B.F.A. from the University of Southern California in 1952; studied at Yale in 1953; and earned an M.F.A. in 1954 from the University of Southern California. Jarvaise relocated to Santa Barbara in 1969 and, from 1991 forward, served as Head of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Oxnard College.[4] Here, he influenced a new generation of painters, including Henry Taylor (artist).[5]

Art career

In 1958 Museum of Modern Art curator Dorothy Canning Miller selected James Jarvaise for inclusion in the museum's Sixteen Americans exhibition (December 1958 – February 1959). His work exhibited alongside Jay deFeo, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg and Frank Stella), with the potential to launch his career to great heights. However, life got in the way. A teaching job, a growing family and a desire for a less urban lifestyle took priority. Jarvaise did not become a household name. All the same he continued with his art.[6][7]

In 2012, Louis Stern Fine Arts set out to remedy Jarvaise's obscurity with their "James Jarvaise And The Hudson River Series" exhibition.[6][8]

His most recent exhibition, "James Jarvaise: Collages Redux" at Louis Stern Fine Arts featured a selection of his latest work from 1989-2013. The show earned him a positive review on KCRW ArtTalk by Hunter Drohojowska-Philp. The review praises the work for being the most youthful art on exhibit in April 2015. James Jarvaise was 91 and energetically attended the opening.[9]

His paintings and collages can be found at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC and the MoMA in New York.[10][11]

Personal life

Jarvaise had five children.[12]

Shows

Solo exhibitions

[13]

• Felix Landau Gallery (1952/1955/1958/1960/1961/1964/1967/1969)
• Allan Gallery, New York (1967)
• Thibault Gallery, New York (1961)
• Gallery San Jorge, Madrid, Spain (1963)
• Ruth S. Schaffner Gallery, Los Angeles (1974)

Notable group exhibitions

• 16 Americans- Long Beach Museum (Dec 1958–Feb 1959) [13][6]

References

1. "James Jarvaise Chronology". Jarvaise.com Artist's Website.
2. "James Jarvaise Bibliography". Jarvaise.com Artist's Website.
3. "James Jarvaise". Louis Stern Fine Arts.
4. "James Jarvaise". askart.com.
5. "Deana Lawson & Henry Taylor". Interview, Fall 2015, Issue 133. Bomb Magazine.
6. Franklin Einspruch (September 21, 2012). "James Jarvaise Rediscovered". New York Sun.
7. "Dennis Hollingsworth". dennishollingsworth.us.
8. "James Jarvaise 2012". Louis Stern Fine Arts.
9. "James Jarvaise at Louis Stern Fine Arts — Art Talk — KCRW". kcrw.com.
10. "THE COLLECTION: James Jarvaise". Museum of Modern Art.
11. "Dorothy C. Miller Papers". Museum of Modern Art Archives.
12. "Artful Lives: The Jarvaise family legacy". Santa Barbara (published November 2, 2017). Winter 2018. pp. 120–131 – via Issuu.
13. "American Abstract Artist James Jarvaise: Exhibitions". Jarvaise.com. Retrieved 2017-12-19.