Jill Krutick, a Westchester, New York based abstract expressionist artist is exhibiting seven museum-sized works at Miraval Berkshires Resort & Spa. The exhibition was recently installed in four locations around the resort including the Reception Area, Spa, Body Mindfulness Center and hallway near the Moonlight Pass Boutique. The show is scheduled to be on view for one year. The works include pieces from Ms. Krutick’s Shangri La, Aurora Borealis, Abstract Landscape, Ice Cube and Swirl Series. Each piece has a story that fits into Krutick’s journey from finance to fine art. Several of the pieces were featured at solo museum exhibitions that Krutick had over the past five years.
INSTALLATION PHOTOS AT MIRAVAL BERKSHIRES RESORT &SPA
About the Art as described by Jill Krutick
RECEPTION AREA
“Shangri La 11, 2019”
50 x 110 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed
Shangri La Series – A Secret Garden
“The Shangri La Series was born out of my love for creating fictitious, dream-like landscapes, and inspired by family eco-adventure trips from Antarctica to Hawaii. It has roots in the abstract landscape tradition of Monet. The materials employed to create Shangri La works often vacillate between oil and acrylic, but all contain ample texture and lively, primary colors denoting trees or leafy formations.
After an intense career on Wall Street and in the corporate media world, there was a need to take a breath and find a peaceful place. Painting idyllic, imaginary places like Shangri La became an escape and a place to explore. The iterative process of layering and finding the perfect blend of colors and textures has become a meditative exercise where time is not a factor. Shangri La is a fantasy place to get lost in.”
“Chasing The Invisible, 2017”
62 x 98 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed
Exhibited at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2019
Aurora Borealis Series – The Story
“Chasing the Invisible is from my Aurora Borealis series and is a work that was reinvented with the help of a song. As I described to art critic Anthony Haden-Guest in his analysis of my work, “I took a painting that was at a dead end and I made it, literally sing. By using my daughter’s song called “Chasing the Invisible” as the foundation, I projected the story of a girl who confronts the reality that her lover was just a figment of her imagination -- an “invisible” person built from lonely thoughts and deep desires. The elements of the original painting that couldn’t “sing,” became the embellishments in the revised version. And now, this one is among my favorite paintings.”
This Aurora Borealis museum-scale work symbolizes the joy that comes with exploring my creative spirit -- soaring, sweeping and sparkling. Contrasting light and dark, Aurora Borealis ex- amines the sky and its celestial beauty.”
SPA
“Aurora Borealis Victory 1 & 2, 2021”
48 x 120 inches, acrylic on canvas
Aurora Borealis Series – An Interstellar Event
“Heavily textured and oozing with energetic motion, the Aurora Borealis series illustrates one of nature’s greatest ethereal moments in time. Dynamic gestures and giant splashes capture this unmatched natural phenomenon. Often shown in purple, pinks and blue, these works have an other-worldly feeling, almost extra-terrestrial. “Aurora Borealis Victory” is a celebration. The fireworks-style lights up the canvas with rich tones and astronomical imagery.
Aurora Borealis symbolizes the joy that comes with exploring my creative spirit -- soaring, sweeping and sparkling. Contrasting light and dark, Aurora Borealis examines the sky and its celestial beauty.”
BODY MINDFULNESS CENTER
“Ice Cube Black & Red, 2016”
62 x 62 inches, oil on canvas, framed
Exhibited at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2019
“Ice Cube Black & Red, 2019”
62 x 62 inches, oil on canvas, framed
Exhibited at Yellowstone Art Museum, 2019
Ice Cube Series – Melting Adversity
“The Ice Cube Series represents the courageous process involved in overcoming personal challenges. I often equate the use of geometric shapes to setting “boundaries” or, conversely, being “boxed in.” As a daughter, sister, mother, and friend I have confronted some challenges that are chilling but melt away when I persevere. The molten gold in the middle represents the fire from within to overcome a battle that thaws the cube. The drips on the canvas symbolize the fragments of the obstacle that remain.
It is not a coincidence that my Ice Cube paintings highlight an equal sign. Equilibrium is essential for one to fairly and completely navigate through a problem. While the shape may appear “simple,” the canvas comes alive with the dynamic textures and embellishments that dress each work.
Over time, the Ice Cube shape has emerged as one of my artistic fingerprints — triumphantly expressing the human spirit through adversity.”
HALLWAY ADJACENT TO MOOLIGHT PASS BOUTIQUE
“Chicka Chicka, 2018”
62 x 98 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed
Abstract Landscape Series – The Story
‘“Chicka Chicka Boom Boom” by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault was a favorite fam-ily childen’s book, which inspired this grand painting. The primary colors and the sing-song alphabet learning story always filled me and my children with joy. In the spirit of this happy memory, the painting Chicka Chicka was born. With primary and fluorescent colors, Chicka Chika celebrates the tree and the whimsical story. Instead of letters, there are balls and half-moons. Lots of texture and bright colors tell the story.
Chicka Chicka is also an abstract landscape style painting. It captures an early style of my creative portfolio and stems from my fascination with the natural world and love for Monet and Van Gogh. Since the beginning, I always sought to depict the same kind of tenderness and candor of the outdoors with which these masters achieved. This aspiration laid the bedrock for these works.”
“Rainbow Fish, 2018”
50 x 74 inches, acrylic on canvas, framed
Exhibited at the Coral Springs Museum of Art, 2019 and Yellowstone Museum of Art, 2019
Swirl Series – The Story
‘“Rainbow Fish,” by Marcus Pfister, inspired this special painting. It is a story about a beautiful fish with iridescent scales who is vain but sadly has no friends. Eventually he realizes that you can’t win friends through beauty. He overcomes his pride and begins to distribute his glitter scales to the other fish -- learning that sharing can help you make lasting friends.
This work is from my “Swirl series,” which best communicates who I am as an artist: a musician, a lover of pop culture, a storyteller. From the conductor-inspired movements, each painting has meaning and a unique narrative. Communicated through texture, movement and color, the Swirl Series captures my childhood doodles, a fantastical interpretation of places my family visited on eco-adventures, as well as iconic music, movies, songs and books that touched me during my dynamic career as a media analyst/executive and mother.”
About Jill Krutick
Jill Krutick is an American contemporary abstract expressionist who painted privately for over 30 years and studied at The Art Students League of New York. In 2010, she began publicly exhibiting her work. She has been praised by world-famous art critics and has had four solo museum exhibitions and scores of group exhibitions both in the U.S. and several major European cities. Her most recent solo museum exhibition in 2023 featured a site-specific 85-foot-long abstract artwork, “Coral Beliefs,” at Pyramid Hill Sculptures Park & Museum, Ohio. The mixed media on panel work captures both the exquisite beauty and the unprecedented tribulations faced by coral reefs around the world today.
As a young painter and pianist, later as a media executive and board member, Ms. Krutick has spent her life dedicated to the arts. Painting emerged as her greatest passion, which she now pursues full time in her Westchester, New York studio. For more information, please visit her website jillkrutickfineart.com or Instagram page @JillKrutickFineArt.
About Miraval Berkshires Resort & Spa
Miraval Berkshires is one of New England’s largest and most renowned spas, according to Condé Nast Traveler, 2024. According to Oprah Daily Hotel O-Wards, 2024, “A newer addition to the wellness retreat scene in the Berkshires, this immersive resort has full days of expansive and unique programming and an incredible spa with a giant menu of treatment options.” Part of the Hyatt family, Miraval has locations in Arizona, Austin, the Berkshires and newly opened Miraval The Red Sea.
