In Ryder’s Eye, 1987
Oil and wax on linen
14 1/4 x 18 1/2 inches

CV

Born 1948, Fayetteville, North Carolina
Died 1993, New York City

Education

1986 M.F.A., Yale University School of Art, New Haven Connecticut
1978 Bennington College Summer Painting Workshop, Bennington, VT
1976 B.A., Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, New York
1973 American School, Florence, Italy

Solo Exhibitions

Jesse Murry: Rising, David Zwirner, New York, curated by Jarrett Earnest and Lisa Yuskavage (September 17 - October 23, 2021) [travelled to the Contemporary Art Museum, University of South Florida, Tampa (August 26 - December 3, 2022) and the Douglas F. Cooley Memorial Art Gallery, Reed College, Portland (August 24 - December 3, 2023)]

Jesse Murry: Radical Solitude, Tibor de Nagy, New York, curated by Clay Hapaz (November 22, 2019 - January 12, 2020)

In Celebration of Black History Month - An Exhibition of Works by Jesse Murry, NYNEX Collection, White Plains, New York (1990)

Works on Paper, Sharpe Gallery, New York (1987)

Jesse Murry: M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT (February 2 - 13, 1986)

Approaching Magic, Houghton House Gallery, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY (1984)

Group Exhibitions

Perhaps the Truth, Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, TX (October 4, 2023 - March 30, 2024)

Real Life, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Nieuw Zuid, Antwerp (February 25 - March 26, 2023)

Necessary Angels: Jesse Murry & Lisa Yuskavage, Contemporary Art Museum, University of South Florida, Tampa (August 26 - December 3, 2022)

Entre Centre et Absence, Loong Mah, New York, curated by Olivia Shao (April 5 - May 15, 2022)

Get Lifted!, Karma, New York, curated by Hilton Als (August 19 - October 2, 2021)

Old Friends, Part 2, Tibor de Nagy, New York (August 11 - September 13, 2020)

James Baldwin/ Jim Brown and the Children, Artist’s Institute, New York, curated by Hilton Als (May 2 - June 18, 2016)

you start to want to die, Doyers, New York, curated by Clay Hapaz (2013)

Painting in Poetry/Poetry in Painting: Wallace Stevens & Modern Art, Baruch College, New York (1995)

Abstract Places, Art in General, New York (1989)

Contemporary Environment, General Electric Corp., Fairfield, CT (1989)

Utopian Vision, Museum of Modern Art, traveling exhibitions, New York (1988)

Romance is Back, Lintas Worldwide Corp., New York (1988)

Vision and Visionaries: Contemporary Landscapes, Tavelli Gallery, Aspen, CO (1988)

Nightworks, Bronx Museum Satellite Gallery at Krasdale Foods, Bronx, New York (1987)

Homage to Arthur Dove: Eleven Abstract Painters, Houghton House Gallery, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York (1983)

Invitational, Kent State University, Kent, OH (1982)

Monographs & Catalogues

Edited by Jarrett Earnest and Christian Viveros-Fauné. Introduction by Margaret Miller. Essay by Christian Viveros-Fauné. Jesse Murry: Rising and Necessary Angels: Jesse Murry & Lisa Yuskavage. Tampa, FL: USF Contemporary Art Museum, 2022.

Edited and with an introduction by Jarrett Earnest. Forward by Hilton Als. Painting is a Supreme Fiction. Chicago: Soberscove Press, 2021.

Alex Fialho, “Painterly Expressions of Jesse Murry,” Jesse Murry - Radical Solitude. New York: Tibor de Nagy, 2020.

Selected Articles & Reviews

Claire Voon. “Archival efforts at an artist’s foundation and two New York non-profits get a major boost,” The Art Newspaper (January 17, 2024)

Max Blue, “Painting Toward Life: Jesse Murry at Reed College,” Variable West (September 19, 2023)

Gabriella Angeleti, “A biennial in Oregon explores the role of art in political and social critique,” The Art Newspaper (September 8, 2023)

Chad Scott, “Rewards and Challenges to be Found at Portland’s Converge 45 Biennial,” Forbes (August 31, 2023)

Brianna Miller, “Converge 45: Portland’s ambitious arts festival finds its focus,” The Oregonian / OregonLive (September 12, 2023)

“USF Museum showcases work of Jesse Murry, Lisa Yuskavage,” Tampa Bay Newspaper (August 30, 2022)

Michelle Smith, “September Arts Roundup: USFCAM, Bloom on Franklin, Jobsite, Stageworks, Florida Orchestra and more,” 83degrees (August 30, 2022)

D’Ann Lawrence White, “USF Contemporary Art Museum Presents 2 Exhibits,” Patch (September 23, 2022)

Jarrett Earnest, “Landscapes of the Imagination,” The New York Review of Books (December 12, 2021)

Sheryl Oppenheim, “Painting Is a Supreme Fiction: Writings by Jesse Murry, 1980-1993,” Bomb Magazine (December 1, 2021)

Victoria L. Valentine, “David Zwirner is Showing Abstract Paintings by Jesse Murry, Part of Series of Exhibitions Dedicated to Artists Who Died During HIV/AIDS Crisis,” Culture Type (October 8, 2021)

“Exhibition brings together paintings from the last five years of Jesse Murry's life,” artdaily.com (September 17, 2021)

“Jesse Murry: Lisa Yuskavage and Jarrett Earnest,” Talk Art (September 16, 2021)

“Jesse Murry Expressionism: 1980,” The Brooklyn Rail (September 2021)

Balasz Takac, “The Responses to the Aids Crisis Explored at David Zwirner,” Widewalls (July 2, 2021)

Shaye Weaver, “The best things to do in NYC this week,” TimeOut (June 28, 2021)

Xinrou Shu, “David Zwirner Announces "More Life" to Mark the 40th Anniversary of HIV/AIDS,” V-Man (June 26, 2021)

Maximilíano Durón, “David Zwirner Plans Exhibition Series to Mark AIDS Pandemic's Beginning,” ARTnews (May 10, 2021)

Hilton Als, “Art: Jesse Murry,” The New Yorker (2020)

Lisa Yuskavage, “Jesse Murry, 1948-1993,” Art in America (October 2011)

Matt Parr, “Creating Contemporary Art: Three Graduate Perspectives,” Queue (December 1985)

Written by the Artist

Edited and with an Introduction by Jarrett Earnest, foreword by Hilton Als. Painting Is a Supreme Fiction: Writings by Jesse Murry 1980-1993. Chicago: Soberscove Press, 2021.

Reverend Howard Finster, exhibition brochure essay. New York: New Museum, 1982.

Color: Four Painters, exhibition catalogue essay. Malmo, Sweden: Galerie Nordenhake and Oscarsson Hood Gallery, 1982.

“Reflections on Howard Hodgkin’s Theater of Memory,” Arts Magazine (June 1981)

“Quintet: The Romance of Order and Tension in Five Paintings by Elizabeth Murray,” Arts Magazine (May 1981)

“Hans Hofmann’s Use of Nature as Aesthetic Norm,” cover feature, Arts Magazine (February 1981)

“Bill Conlon: The Blue’s Brothers Sam and Dave,” Arts Magazine (January 1981)

Paul Burlin: The Late Paintings, exhibition catalogue essay. New York: Grace Borgenicht Gallery, 1981.

“Phillip Wofford’s Evocative Abstraction,” Arts Magazine (December 1980)

“Reverend Howard Finster: Man of Vision,” Arts Magazine (October 1980)

Curated by the Artist

Homage to Arthur Dove: Eleven Abstract Painters, Houghton House Gallery, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, New York (1983)

Reverend Howard Finster, New Museum, New York (1982)

Grants

1988 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant
1983 Mellon Individual Project Grant

Teaching

1985-86 Teaching Assistant to Professor Andrew Forge, Basic Drawing, Yale University
1982-84 Visiting Professor of Art History, Hobert and William Smith Colleges

Lectures and Panels

Artist Lecture, as part of In Celebration of Black History Month - An Exhibition of Works by Jesse Murry, NYNEX Collection, White Plains, New York (1990)

Artist Lecture, as part of Black Arts Festival, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA (1985)

The Self, the World, and Art, part of the lecture series, Speaker’s Choice, New Museum, New York (1985)

The Education of the Artist in the Late 20th Century, Lecture, University of Delaware (1984)

The Artist as Critic, moderator Marcia Tucker for Art Search and New Museum at the Home of Holly and Horace Solomon, New York (1983)

The Challenge to Young Painters: The Search and the Making of a Meaningful Space, Lecture, Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT (1982)

Visiting Artist, Kent State University, Ohio (1981)

Art is You, Lecture, SUNY Purchase, New York (1981)

Expressionism: 1980, Moderator, Landmark Gallery, New York (1980)

New Critics, Panelist, Landmark Gallery, New York (1980)

Panels and Podcasts about the Artist

Clear bright edges of the horizon: new perspectives Jesse Murry, introduced by Lisa Yuskavage, moderated by Jarrett Earnest, with panelists Gaby Collins-Fernandez, Alex Fialho, Camille Okhio, and Jason Stopa, New York Studio School, New York [online] (2022)

Jesse Murry: Lisa Yuskavage and Jarrett Earnest, Talk Art [podcast] (2021)