On any given day, you might find Jose “Joe” Dureza wandering around the town or the Meadowlands with a digital camera and a sketch pad.
With his recent retirement from teaching at 62 years old, Dureza has finally managed to do what he always wanted: paint full time.
Dureza, whose works will be on display at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center May 11-18, prefers landscapes, flowers and buildings to drawing people, but he does a portrait now and then.
“I like to think of it as nature to architecture,” he said.
Many of Dureza’s recent works include images of the Meadowlands Environment around Secaucus, and about half of what will be displayed at the library includes scenes he’s captured while wandering around Secaucus.
“There are some sketches of the Duck Pond and the Mill Creek area, as well as some of the Hackensack River,” he said.
Jose A. Dureza paints in oil, pastel and watercolor. He also does architectural renderings. He won first place, watercolor division, in the 1989 and 1990 Hudson artists’ regional shows, and was named Hudson Artist of the year in 1999 by the Hudson Artists of New Jersey.
Trained as an architect, it is not surprising to find that his sketches and paintings also include the Secaucus municipal building, local churches and the downtown shopping district.
Born in the Philippines, Dureza turned to painting as a hobby while practicing as architect in Bacolod City in the central Philippines in the early seventies.
He had received his degree in urban planning from the University of Mississippi in 1973 and continued at the school through 1976 under a Fulbright Scholarship Program.
While teaching color and design at a college of architecture, he renewed his interest in painting. He was staff artist of the campus magazine for three years at the University of San Agustin while working for his architecture degree.
He then joined a local art club and started to show and sell his works of mostly landscapes, portraits and flowers in transparent watercolor.
Work assignments carried Dureza to the north and south of the country while he continued to sketch. Graduate scholarships in Urban Planning from the Rotary Foundation and Fulbright Hays brought him to the U.S. He continued painting to ease the rigors of academic work.
A travel grant from the French government in the spring of 1982 expanded his subjects and enhanced his techniques. He held his first solo show, “Images de France,” in Manila later that year.
“That show focused on my travels through France,” he said.
Over the years, his shows have included: Filipino Artists in Focus, New York, N.Y., 1993; NYMTA Asia-Pacific Heritage Month, Brooklyn, NY, 1993; Hudson Artists Inc. Annual Regional Show, Bayonne, N.J., 1988-92; Santacruzan ’88; Newport Mall, Jersey City, 1988; Philippine Centre, One-Man Show in Watercolors, N.Y., 1988; Yemen Art Society Annual Show, Sana’a, Yemen, 1986-87; “Images de France” solo show in watercolor, Manila, Philippines 1982; Ole Miss Art ‘n, University of Mississippi, 1977.
His architectural work brought Dureza to Yemen, a ruggedly beautiful country by the Red Sea in 1985. With short working hours and unhampered by family responsibilities, he increased his productivity by painting in pastel. He enjoyed a great demand for his watercolors from the expatriate community of Europeans, Americans, and Japanese. When not designing buildings for his airline employer, Dureza illustrated and wrote for the in-flight magazine.
Came to JC in 1987
Dureza moved his family to Jersey City in 1987 only to find out that jobs in architecture and construction were getting scarce.
He turned to painting portraits and more watercolors. He made a successful one-man show at the Philippine Centre in 1988 and has participated in several group shows in New York and New Jersey and won prizes in juried shows.
Dureza said Secaucus, especially the wetland parts, reminds him of his boyhood.
“I grew up very close to two rivers,” he said, calling it a rural area. “I’ve always loved to wander off the beaten path. I have lot of water in my work. I also paint a lot of flowers. I raised flowers when I was a young man.”
Part of his current artistic effort is designed to preserve some of what Secaucus looks like today before development takes over.
“I want to preserve some of the images before they forgotten,” he said.
In his work, he said, he tries to show the conflict between the forces of urban development and the valiant efforts to preserve the vital role of the wetlands.
“As an artist I try to show how these two contrast,” he said, “And how the balance remains very delicate.”
He will display his watercolor painting in a one-man show from May 11 to 18. the exhibit will be in the Panasonic meeting room at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center.
A reception for the artist will be held on May 18 from noon to 3 p.m.
He will also offer a two-hour watercolor demonstration for adults from 16 years or older on May 13 from 7 to 9 p.m.
The show will feature local architecture, local environment, and the remnants of a one-man show called “Wanderings” that was featured at the Philippine Gallery in New York City in 2001.
Dureza’s exhibit can be viewed during regular library hours, which are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
“The library is pleased to have someone with such expertise and talent display his work at the library and also present the demonstration for aspiring artists,” said Library Director Katherine Steffens.
Residents’ art show set for June
Secaucus residents are invited to submit their works of art to a special show slated for June 16-22 at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center. Library Director Katherine Steffens said art that is painted, stitched, photographed or molded by hand is welcome.
The Residents’ Art Annual Art Show will feature local artists in the Panasonic Meeting Room during regular library houses, with an artist’s reception held on June 22 from noon to 3 p.m.
“The students in Doug DePice’s art classes and Walter Slasinski’s photography classes are also invited to display their works in this exhibit,” Steffens said. “Whether it’s quilting, pottery or painting that occupies your time, this is an opportunity to share your talent, as well as your expertise with others.”
Resident planning to exhibit their work should register at the library so that adequate space is provided. The library phone number is (201) 330-2083.
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