James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
To capture weightlessness, movement and emotion in a single, gestural brushstroke required transgender artist James Nares to reimagine her entire art-making process. In addition to suspending herself above the canvas, Nares also created her own calligraphic brushes and paint, practicing meticulous strokes over and over until finally achieving that perfect swipe.
Dubbed an “action painter” and a “scientific painter,” Nares’ process is the result of years of researching, testing and expanding on her style. Nares moved to New York City in 1974 after studying at the Chelsea College of Art. As she is also a musician, Nares fell into the city’s “no wave” scene — a brief avant-garde music and visual art movement concentrated in downtown Manhattan. The experimentation with noise, and dissonance that became popular among no wave artists likely informed Nares’ art style and fueled her passion for creative experimentation throughout the 1980s.
Nares is represented by the Kasmin Gallery, which has exhibited her work since 1991. The artist’s solo exhibitions include 2014’s “High Speed Drawings” and 2013’s “Road Paint Paintings.” The latter featured works that Nares created with thermoplastic paint — the same type of paint that is used on tarmacs and roads. Her work is part of the collections of the Albright-Knox Gallery in Buffalo, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art. The Milwaukee Art Museum staged a retrospective on Nares in 2019.
While primarily known for her artwork, Nares' film projects have been part of solo exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and presented at the 2008 Anthology Film Archives in New York and at the New York IFC Center in 2011.
On 1stDibs, find authentic James Nares prints, drawings and paintings.
1980s Contemporary James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Monotype, Handmade Paper
Late 20th Century Realist James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Silk, Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Gouache
21st Century and Contemporary James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Handmade Paper
Late 20th Century Realist James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Silk, Watercolor, Handmade Paper, Gouache
2010s Baroque James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Emulsion, Mixed Media, Watercolor, Photographic Paper, Monoprint, Monotype
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Ink, Watercolor, Handmade Paper
2010s Minimalist James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Handmade Paper, Ink, Watercolor
1930s Modern James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Gouache, Handmade Paper
Late 20th Century Realist James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Watercolor, Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Abstract James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Found Objects, Handmade Paper
Late 17th Century Baroque James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Handmade Paper
21st Century and Contemporary Realist James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Conté, Crayon, Pastel, Handmade Paper, Graphite
21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary James Nares Still-life Drawings and Watercolors
Paper, Linocut