BOSTON, MASS.- For Jim Schantz, moments of change are moments of celebration. Our forests, waters, and skies shift and renew in ways that we may take for granted, or simply fail to remember. Sunrises melt into sunsets; sunsets swell into sunrises. Within these transitions, at their peak, is when Jim paints many of his landscapes, invoking the dazzling allure of nature’s complex transformations all within a single painted moment.

With its synchronized web of cyclical and unpredictable changes, nature is whole. Jim honors that wholeness by forming an intimacy with his environment, conscientiously achieved by revisiting, and painting, the same natural landscape in a new context again and again. This devotion exposes the rich progression of shifting patterns, colors, and textures that are seen, felt, and heard in all nature. Atlantic Sunrise captures the moment a day begins anew, the ocean waves rolling softly in a gentle ebb and flow, the sun awakening as if in a contented, morning yawn. Red, yellow, and orange pour outward into clouds slowly colored by the sun’s warmth. The same view of the ocean sunrise transforms in After the Storm, Atlantic Sunrise, with energetic waves painted in suggestive strokes, the sunlight desperately reaching through the purple clouds to diminish darkness. Two separate paintings, sharing the same oceanic view, express equal beauty in their divergent natures—the beauty of every anticipated calming sunrise, or the aftermath of an extraordinary tempest.




Tapping into the beauty of natural transformations, Jim paints a soaring world that is mindful of moments past, moments still to come, but especially of things as they are. Such a world allows us to explore, accept, and rejoice in our own life’s morphing nuances and ambiguities: yearning and mourning, solitude and loneliness, awe and contemplation. River Twilight, Crescent Winter ambiguously shows a time of day either after sunset or before sunrise, the sun indirectly visible only by its mere glow. A river isolates two scrawny, bare-boned trees from a lush forest brimming with pine trees. Is this a mournful moment of beings unwillingly divided? Or is this a moment of hope, with the possibility of reunion in full view? Is the sun setting or rising?

When we are confronted with the unexpected, when storms ravage and divisions materialize, Schantz’ paintings remind us that all moments extend, all moments blend and bump into another in a repetitive and ever-evolving cycle. Though we assume the view that each day will renew with orange-yellow dawns turning to blue skies, we may resist the change brought by a brief storm or an unyielding river. Jim’s paintings expand this perspective. He replicates a single location found in nature, revealing, and accepting all its fluctuating moods and colors. We too can embrace it all and revel in it all.

Pucker Gallery was established in Boston in 1967. The Gallery exhibits an eclectic and sophisticated collection of contemporary art by over 50 international artists. The collections include ceramics, paintings, photographs, mobiles, works on paper, and sculptures.

Pucker Gallery is open to all and taking the necessary precautions for visitor and staff safety. We welcome appointments to maximize visitor experience. On October 17 at 1PM, we will host a virtual WebinART entitled “Places of the Spirit,” which will feature Jim Schantz, Flutist Paula Robison, and Gallery Owner Bernie Pucker. This event will include a discussion and an illustrated presentation paired with music that goes beyond the objects to connect visitors around the globe with art. Register for the event by clicking here.