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New York–Centric Curated by James Little: Gallery of the American Fine Arts Society | Student Arts League, NYC

Past exhibition
5 March - 5 May 2019
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Overview
James Little Royal Blood, 2018 Raw Pigment on canvas 32 x 40 in 81.3 x 101.6 cm
James Little
Royal Blood, 2018
Raw Pigment on canvas
32 x 40 in
81.3 x 101.6 cm

I organized this exhibition with the following requirements in mind: the work should be abstract, produced in or around New York during the latter half of the 20th or beginning of the 21st century, and it must be painting. My decision was to bring together exemplary work and ideas that addressed issues in contemporary American abstract painting. I sought out work that I felt had a conceptual and radical emphasis on the paint and its properties, that investigated and experimented with color and, to some extent, color theory and design, and expressionism. I considered a variety of artists and sensibilities. The common threads are the dialogues the artists have with the medium and the relationships they have developed within their work and to the art of the past. Among the artists, some are well-known. Others are underknown, and unknown. The most noticeable, discernable, and outstanding features of this exhibition are clarity, quality and deftness of hand. Fundamentally, this exhibition harks back to why artists choose paint as a medium, what they do with it, and how it remains relevant. This, at a time when contemporary art trends address critical issues of the day—politics, gender identity, race, social inequality, war and terrorism and the environment. Abstract painting doesn’t appear to have a voice in the conversation. But nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout history, painting, in its ongoing transformation, has served humanity and provided for its mental, social and spiritual health. In doing so, painting has helped shape opinions and attitudes, and societal norms, and it continues to do so today. The artists in this exhibition represent that tradition through abstraction. I curated this exhibition because I felt an urgency for renewed focus and attention to abstract painting and to the contributions that these artists, in particular, have made and continue to offer to the art historical cannon. At this time in our culture, I organized this show because it needed to be done. 

 

— James Little

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Works
  • James Little Royal Blood, 2018 Raw Pigment on canvas 32 x 40 in 81.3 x 101.6 cm
    James Little
    Royal Blood, 2018
    Raw Pigment on canvas
    32 x 40 in
    81.3 x 101.6 cm
Installation Views
  • James Little
Videos
  • James Little with Seph Rodney | Black Stars & White Paintings

    James Little with Seph Rodney | Black Stars & White Paintings

    Acclaimed abstract painter James Little shares his insights and brilliance with award winning arts journalist Seph Rodney, in this revealing walk through of Black Stars & White Paintings, Little's latest... Read more
Press
  • James Little, Royal Blood, 2018, Raw pigment on canvas, Courtesy of the artist and June Kelly Gallery, New York.

    James Little: Artseen | New York-Centric

    William Corwin, Brooklyn Rail, March 5, 2019

Related artist

  • James Little

    James Little

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