OCHI is pleased to present ‘And we are green, greener than the hill, where flowers grow and the sun shines still,’ a solo exhibition of new paintings by Montana-based artist James Chronister. This marks Chronister’s debut solo presentation with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view at OCHI, located at 119 Lewis Street in Ketchum, Idaho from July 13 through August 17, 2024. An Artist’s Reception will be held on Saturday, July 13th from 5:00 – 7:00 PM MDT.

And we are green, greener than the hill, where flowers grow and the sun shines still features James Chronister’s deeply intricate, monochromatic landscape paintings. Composing straight on images of dense winter forests, close ups of individual leaves, and aerial images of flora, Chronister begins his process by photographing the environment surrounding his home in Missoula, Montana. After digitally distorting contrast, focus, and tones, Chronister moves from computer to canvas where minuscule individual marks reveal scrupulous technical application. Onto a white or carefully hued off-white background, Chronister meticulously recreates source photographs by repeatedly applying, shaping, and erasing black oil paint. Precise dry brushing and stippling techniques achieve texture, depth, and refinements of form. As painter Jake Longstreth remarks, “Chronister achieves a startling range of tonality and depth. Viewed up-close, the paintings are constructed by a series of small, discrete marks: a binary system of data – like type on a page – that results in a surreal density of information. Step back, and the pictures cohere. The eye and mind struggle to reconcile the illusionism of these paintings with the narrow, restrained means of their technique.” The monochrome palette, unique in each painting, lends a unifying quality to Chronister’s work – distinguishing his paintings from realism despite his faithful adherence to the source photographs.

Though landscape in concept, Chronister’s spectral hues and cropped forests proffer tension between abundance and its representation rather than the idyllic and unaffected scenery of canonical landscape painting. Unassuming but vastly complex in their subtlety, these scenes of nature depict an unseen environment that is both a rich and rewarding investigation. The intimate density of marks and their unity from afar commands friction between deception and representation—complexities in spatial layering evoke questions of size and remind viewers of nature’s vanquishing power. Sourcing its title from a line in the song “Place to Be” from Nick Drake’s cult classic album “Pink Moon,” each painting in the exhibition encapsulates a wealth of visual detail, all harmonized by their depiction in a single hue.
James Chronister (b. 1978, Helena, MT) earned his MFA from the California College of the Arts, San Francisco and his BFA as from the University of Montana, Missoula. Chronister was awarded the Fox and Miles Scholarships while at the University of Montana and the Richard K. Price Scholarship while at the California College of the Arts. In 2013, Chronister was awarded the Artist-In-Residence at the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas, California, which was accompanied by a survey of his work from the years 2009-2013. Chronister was nominated for the SECA Award from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2010 and 2018. Chronister’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including at Nino Mier in Los Angeles, CA; Eleanor Harwood Gallery in San Francisco, CA; Eli Ridgway Gallery in Bozeman, MT; Burnet Gallery in Minneapolis, MN; and Circle Culture in Berlin, Germany. His work is included in numerous public collections including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Stanford Hospital, San Francisco International Airport, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, San Francisco General Hospital, Nion McEvoy Family Collection, Paul Wattis III Family Collection, and the Howard Tullman Family Collection. His work has been featured and reviewed in publications including Art Review, Shotgun Review, Artslant, Artists Speak, Sunset Magazine, and San Diego Story. Chronister lives and works in Missoula, Montana.