ARTIST MICHAEL HURSON (1941–2007)

Michael Hurson, a New York–based artist known for whimsical drawings and paintings, often done in a pseudo-Cubist style, died suddenly from a heart attack in Nyack on January 29, Artnet reports. A technical virtuoso, Hurson took as his subjects everything from fishing lures and eyeglasses to classic works of art history and is particularly remembered for Play, a dialogue between a red light bulb and a blue one. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, Hurson began his career in Chicago in the ’70s with finely crafted model rooms and interiors, which were shown at MoMA in a “Projects” exhibition. His paintings were also included in the 1978 show “New Image Painting” at the Whitney. In the ’80s, Hurson moved to New York, where he exhibited at Paula Cooper Gallery.