Roi James

Construct 7.2.23

2023

In James' paintings, he explores how uncertainty can lead to meaning and understanding. How harmony can be experienced even within tension and chaos and how the recognizable can rise out of purely abstract form. In his abstract paintings he responds to these phenomena by creating contemporary icons – works meant to encourage contemplation and meditation. James' more recent works have evolved from the romantic representational ideal into the symbolic, abstract archetype. He comes from a classical background inspired by the great romantic landscape painters such as Turner, Lorrain, Friedrich and Moran, his recent work is more influenced by the work of artists like Klee, Miro, Rothko, Pollock, Riley and Richter. James creates complex abstractions layered in familiarity and veiled in mysteriousness. The unorthodox methods he uses to apply and move oil paint allow him to create compositions that are formally beautiful – infused with tension and drama but also expressive of the spiritual, symbolic, mysterious and eternal. James' work counters...

Cahill strives to extend the historical conversation with line and elevate the integral role it has played in art, design, and the sciences since its early appearance in rock and cav...

Ann Thornycroft was born and raised in England. She earned her BA from the Central School of Art in London and a Higher Diploma in art at the Chelsea S...

According to the artist, "everything in life inspires me, not quite with direct interpretation, but as I see and experience faces, words, gestures, colors and shapes – all of it – I ...

Since 2008, Tina Bluefield has been drawn to the world of large-scale abstraction, exploring the relationship between color, form, and the natural landscapes that inspire her. She g...

Since 2008, Tina Bluefield has been drawn to the world of large-scale abstraction, exploring the relationship between color, form, and the natural landscapes that inspire her. She g...

Exhibited in "Benji Stiles: A Human Day" at Reeves Art + Design. In “A Human Day,” a solo show dedicated to the work of contemporary multidisciplinary artist Benji Stiles, we explor...

Johnnie Winona Ross Deep Creek Seeps 10, 2007 Oil paint on acrylic base burnished on Belgian linen Signed twice, dated and titled on the verso; also bears the original Stephen Haller Gallery label\ Canvas is stretched against wooden backing but no outer frame This work was originally sold by the Stephen Haller Gallery which hosted several critically acclaimed, sell-out shows of New Mexico resident Johniie Winona Ross, whose exquisite Minimalist aesthetic really took hold with collectors. The debt to famous New Mexico resident and Minimalist goddess Agnes Martin is obvious, but Winona Ross has a disctinctive style and technique of his own. The process of creating this work was laborious: Ross typically applies as many as 90-100 layers of paint to each canvas, then scrapes the surface with a straight-edged razor to reveal the many layers (and their chronology), and finally burnishing the surface with a Pueblo pottery stone to achieve a soft gloss. Maureen Mullarkey of Studio Matters wrote in 2010: THE LOVELINESS OF JOHNNIE WINONA ROSS' paintings elude translation into either reproduction or verbal description. In 2011, ArtDaily published this announcement from Stephen Haller, publicizing a later exhibition: "Washington Post critic Stephen Parks characterized Ross’s work in this way: “From a distance his canvases appear to be simple, minimal constructions of horizontal stripes with hints of vertical color in the background. Up close the paintings are seen to be extraordinarily beautiful and complex objects that induce a humming meditative state.” Ross grounds his work in the inspiration of the desert of the American Southwest, and borrows techniques from ancient Native American sources, melding them with a distinctly sophisticated and utterly contemporary vision. His use of the Native American technique of burnishing pigment and minerals with a potter’s stone to create a hard surface with a visually warm sheen creates an effect reminiscent of the softening of marble steps...