Jimmie James

Jimmie James' hallelujah is a square, abstract 14 x 13.75 inch painting in a palette of slate blue grays and whites.  Etching into the surface of the watercolor paper with his pencil lines, and painting over the drawn and painted elements, James' work leaves ghostly images of layers.  Mysterious, "Hallelujah" is written out three times in the artist's hand in the upper right.  James' mixed media drawings are intriguingly elliptical - compelling the viewer to find a kind of meaning.  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.