Judith Simonian’s solo show at JJ Murphy Gallery, poignantly titled The Human Element, Huddled and Still, features her latest paintings from the past few years. At first glance, there is familiarity in each piece – a living room, a still life, part of a ship – but as one starts to look closer, something starts to happen. Within each painting, there is a portal into another world; there are clashing planes and changing scenes that are so seamlessly blended together the viewer’s brain needs some time to catch up. What is particularly astounding about Simonian’s work is that her subject matter is a humble amalgamation of scenes, spaces, and objects one would encounter in everyday life.
Enter the Mountain Yellow’s meticulously blended colors shimmer and change with the viewer’s perspective. The bright, warm yellow blanketing the majority of the painting emits light and draws the viewer in. Visual vibrations stem from ingenious color combinations that activate the surface. The painting is the biggest in the show, and the one the audience sees first in the gallery space. Within the piece, a large, cave-like shape invites observers into another realm, evoking the relaxed ambiance of a picnic scene. What at first seems like an ordinary landscape transforms into what could only be described as a wrinkle in time.
There is a performative element to Simonian’s compositions, laced with hidden homages to Morandi and subtle hints at Vuillard and Bonnard’s compositions. She often stages objects in a very theatrical manner. Her references come anywhere from magazine scraps, places she visited, to her very own desk. Simonian sets stages in almost every painting, showing the viewer her wild imagination. In the painting titled Air Traffic Control, she features a large, rising pink shape that dominates the composition. The shape is that of an ordinary flower vase, surrounded by other still-life objects, such as a glass jar, a dish, and another vase with flowers. One object stands out: just to the right of the pink vase is an oval shape that, upon reflection, reveals a window with a view of a sky and a partial view of a plane. This portal places what would appear to be an ordinary still life into a different dimension. It’s no longer about a vase, it’s about a story of an experience.
Greener Pastures and Resting on Her Side both depict parts of ships. Both compositions are unconventional and striking. Greener Pastures, which depicts a ship deck slightly tilted to one side with a flame at the tip, alludes to Van Gogh’s Rain, on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Resting on Her Side, that focuses on a sinking ship, reminds one of a 1875 storm seascape by Ivan Aivazovsky, both compositionally and thematically. Whether intentionally or subconsciously, the work becomes loaded with the history of paintings that came before, showing the painter’s love and appreciation of painting.
The somatic presence of these works is palpable. The surfaces are physical, full of skins and bits of collaged acrylic paint superimposed on themselves. There is a physicality to Simonian’s brushstrokes that embraces gestural fluctuations. She uses sharp, almost ripped edges to reveal the alternate planes. Her choice of color correlations is from real life, providing tangible abstractions of atmosphere and distance. Simonian has a unique way of describing fantastical spaces: she provides visual clues to a locale and then immediately transports the viewer into a different dimension.
Simonian is from a generation of painters who have lived and worked in New York through the 90s. Her studio is in her apartment, and she lives and breathes art. Works by her friends live in nooks and crannies of her living space. She is part of the generation of artists who have always been there, painting and shaping the New York art scene. Originally from the West Coast, Simonian’s work represents a unique blend of bright California colors and New York melancholy. The paintings stem from deep knowledge of art history, cultural history, and contemporary wit. One of the reasons her paintings are so complex is that she reworks them at different times, rethinking and changing her decisions. She jumps from painting to painting as her process is full of deep thought and spontaneity.
This is a must-experience show for a painter and admirer alike. These humbly presented works are brimming with perplexing energy and magnetism, so much so, that it’s hard to look away or see the same thing twice.
Make your tax-deductible donation today and help Art Spiel continue to thrive. DONATE
Judith Simonian: The Human Element, Huddled and Still
May 21 – June 21, 2025 at JJ Murphy Gallery
53 Stanton Street, New York, NY 10002
About the writer: Anna Shukeylo is an artist, writer, educator, and curator working and living in the New York Metropolitan area. She has written for Artcritical, Painters on Painting, and Art Spiel. Her paintings have been exhibited in solo exhibitions at Kean University, NJ, Manchester University, IN, and in group shows at Auxier/Kline, Equity Gallery, Stay Home Gallery, among others. @annashukeylo