1970s

The Art of Jan Wurm

Thirty-years ago, Berkeley-based painter, Jan Wurm, created snippets from everyday life. Such mundane adventures as having your nails done, watching television, and ironing clothes take on greater gravity under Wurm's observant eye. Her figures possess a casual everyman/everywoman quality. However, upon repeated viewings, each figure's personality comes to the forefront. We can identify with the dreary task of doing the laundry, yet derive pleasure from Wurm's rich color and Egon Schiele-inspired line.

Speaking of the great Austrian artist, it's no coincidence that Wurm spent part of her childhood years living in Austria, absorbing the region's old masters. She returned to America where she studied art at UCLA under Richard Diebenkorn. From there, it was on to the Royal College of Art in London, where she received her masters degree. It is this combination of European residency and American upbringing that informs Wurm's art. Her work is a strong brew of formal academic training and diverse life experiences.

Currently, Wurm is developing a body of work concerned with the complexities of marriage, betrayal, and loss. She's also adopted a darker palette, turned to heavier paint application, and employed the liberal use of crosshatched lines. While her figures retain their identities, they've grown more intense. As a mature painter, Wurm's recent imagery takes on a greater social responsibility. Visually, they reach back to the lessons of such major painters as the German artist Max Beckman.

Richard Polsky

California 2006