Bob Keyes from the Portland Press Herald wrote an amazing article about James Graham’s artwork and his journey with Lyme disease.
Living with Lyme disease a Brunswick artist saves his energy for his art
When Will We Ever Learn? 2019
Brunswick artist James Graham shows two paintings at Yvette Torres Fine Art in Rockland, opening Friday.
Photo courtesy of James Graham
In Rockland, Yvette Torres Fine Art gathers artists whose work depicts the injustice and consequences of war, genocide and the resulting plight of refugees. “When Will We Ever Learn” is on view through Oct. 21. A reception for the artists is from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday. Artists include Samuel Gelber, James Graham, Frances Kidder, Cynthia Motian McGuril, Winslow Myers, Elaine Schmitt Urbain, John Urbain and others.
At 3 p.m. Sunday, Myers will do a presentation titled “All Good Art is Protest Art.” Myers volunteered for the California based nonprofit organization Beyond War and wrote a book on its philosophy of war prevention, “Living Beyond War: A Citizens Guide.”
A portion of the proceeds of the sale of artwork will be donated to refugee resettlement programs in Maine.
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Portland Press Herald publicity, Gallery 44 exhibition, Portland, Maine
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JAMES GRAHAM PREMIERS BUNGANUC SERIES OF MAINE PAINTINGS AT GALLERY 44, PORTLAND STARTING APRIL 7, 2017. Closing Reception, June 2, 2017 from 5-8PM.
James Graham says he thinks Art can change the world. Spend some time with his Bungnauc Series paintings, and you might be convinced he’s right.
Graham’s works are a mash-up of the coastal Maine landscape he has lived in since 2015, and newfound freedom—of emotion, of materials, and of space—combined with the vast Plains landscape of his South Dakota youth, the words of Bob Dylan, the philosophy of Walter Benjamin, and the jazz notes of John Coltrane.
Graham’s paintings walk the line between utopia and dystopia—simultaneously beautiful and terrifying. In his quest to create a true and transformative painting, he mulls society, the environment, and politics, eventually presenting us with an abstract, refracted representation of our messy and beautiful world.
While at first glance, you might not recognize natural elements in Graham’s abstract works, the imagery of sun-dappled trees, orange and red fall leaves, fireflies in an August hayfield, or the winter sun along a tree line, are hard to ignore.
For the past year, Graham has concentrated on large canvases of five or six feet, often combining them into diptychs. Graham says that every painting that leaves his studio must be “fully charged”, and has worked on smaller canvases as well. There is a physicality to all the work, since he paints layers upon layers of inquiry, creating a narrative in paint. Graham’s lines are expressive and energetic, searching for ways to balance and activate the artworks.
James Graham’s Maine debut featuring his Bunganuc Series will be open to the public at Gallery 44 in Portland on First Fridays, April 7 from 5:00-8:00PM and May 5 from 5:00-8:00PM, and by appointment through May 31, 2017. Contact:
ANGELA ROUX, GALLERY 44
44 FOREST AVE., PORTLAND, ME 04101
207-253-5678
To contact James Graham, 207-650-6248
Bunganuc series 15, diptych, 2016 oil on canvas 4′ x 8′
Bunganuc series 17, oil on canvas, 5.5 x 4.5′, 2016
Bunganuc series 18, oil on canvas, 4.5 x 6′, 2016
Bunganuc Series 23, oil on canvas, 2017, 24 x 18″
Bunganuc series 25, oil on canvas diptych, 2017, 26 x 44″
Bunganuc Series, 2017 oil on canvas diptych, 6’x 8′
Bunganuc Series 19, oil on canvas, 6′ x 4′, 2017
Bunganuc Series 20, oil on canvas, 3′ x 3′, 2017
Oil painting, 5′ x 4′
