Malcolm Myers painting “Jazz Night.” Photo courtesy of Grand Hand Gallery

Grand Hand Gallery opened a worthwhile exhibition over the weekend, a themed retrospective of work by influential University of Minnesota art professor and internationally noted artist, Malcolm Myers (b. 1917 – d. 2002). “All That Jazz” features a selection of 20-some pieces — mostly paintings, along with a handful of prints and watercolors — that showcase the artist’s lifelong love of jazz and blues. According to the Grand Hand website, there are more shows yet to come that will offer “some of the remaining work available by this major Minnesota artist” in limited release for public view and purchase.

Malcolm Myers, “Big Joe Turner,” acrylic on canvas, 30″×76″. Courtesy of the Grand Hand Gallery

I’ve seen Myers’ etchings and intaglio prints before (they’re included in prominent museums’ collections the world over), but these large-scale paintings are new to me.  Saturated with the tropical colors of summer – aquamarine and orange, sunny yellows and reds, mint and salmon – these jazz-themed images are exuberant. Your eye can’t help but follow the path of Myers’ brush on canvas; movement and verve are manifest in every visible stroke. Translucent, layered blocks of vivid color, bold lines and muscular gestures are offset by well-placed, economically drawn details – clever caricatures rendered in just a line or two, a mustachioed self-portrait tucked away at the bar, a “jazz woman” captured in curvaceous strokes, swaying to the beat.

Malcolm Myers, “Sax Man,” print (#10 of 20). Courtesy of the Grand Hand Gallery

These pieces carry a kinetic energy familiar from his better known etchings and prints (e.g., see “Sax Man” above). But here, rendered with paint on canvas, Myers’ gestures feel looser and more diffuse, personal and unguarded. These feel like works made from passion rather than for profit.

Malcolm Myers, “The A-Train,” acrylic on canvas, 65″ x 45″. Courtesy of the Grand Hand Gallery

Malcolm Myers, “Self-portrait with Checkerboard,” 24″ x 18″. Courtesy of the Grand Hand Gallery

“All That Jazz” is a tightly focused show, rather than one that aims to offer some encyclopedic retrospective of Myers’ complete oeuvre. And the exhibition is all the more appealing for that specificity. Grand Hand is offering a welcome chance to look more closely at a less traveled byway in the artist’s 50-year career, to consider his larger body of work in light of some delightful and unexpected grace notes. After seeing the show, I know I’m certainly eager to see what other treasures from the Myers’ collection the gallery might turn up next.

Malcolm Myers, “One O’Clock Jump,” acrylic on canvas, 67″ x 48″. Courtesy of the Grand Hand Gallery

“Malcolm Myers: All That Jazz” is on view from July 27 to September 1 at Grand Hand Gallery  619 Grand Avenue, St. Paul; 651-312-1122; thegrandhand.com.