Further images
Jimmie James' playland is a vibrantly colorful abstract 14 x 15 inch work with in acrylic and graphite on watercolor paper in a bright palette of reds, oranges, pinks, with touches of light green, blue and gray over a white painted background. An overall composition creates a dynamic pattern. Drawing with paintbrush and with pencil, James creates a visual vocabulary of gestures and forms which communicates a spontaneous, joyful playfulness. This is an unframed work on paper.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Jimmie James is a poet, painter, actor and singer/songwriter. This renaissanced artist has long been a fixture of New York City's art, theater and music scene, showing at a number of galleries including 571 Projects, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, Boltax Gallery, and Thomas Werner Gallery, to name a few. He has performed in works by theatrical luminaries including Richard Maxwell, Christina Masciotti, Danny Hoch, and Susan Lori Parks, and has composed for theater and film, where projects include Seth Zvi Rosenfeld's "Everything's Turning into Beautiful," Amos Poe's "Empire II."
Whether painting, performing or composing, Jimmie James' work remains accessible while refusing containment. He is doggedly trans-disciplinary: part shaman, part poet, part craftsman. Combining paint, fiber, word and image into tapestry-like works on canvas and paper, he creates pieces that exhibit a strong sense of emotional integrity and truth, through spontaneous, organic line work and considered use of color.
Jimmie James' works are present in a number of private collections. Recently returned from gallery exhibitions and performances in Japan, Thailand and Spain, he currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany.