John Zurier: Vonin, 2012, distemper on linen, 18 by 22 inches. Courtesy Peter Blum.
John Zurier walks a tightrope that stretches between everything and nothing. The dozen recent oil-on-canvas works in “A spring a thousand years ago,” wispy, barely there monochrome compositions in gray, pale blue or mauve, at first seem utterly negligible. Yet their ethereal quality gives way on second look to a feeling of epic image-making. Major pieces, such as the luminous blue-green Hellnar and icy purple Öxnadalur, suggest dramas of nature-land-, sea- or skyscapes. With infinite ambitions and wry sophistication, Zurier makes even the most wan brushstrokes seem perfectly executed and profound.