In this conversation, Saul Appelbaum visits James Little in his studio to explore the layered terrain of his abstract painting practice. Together, they delve into the formal rigor, historical depth, and social dimensions that inform his work—examining not only the visual ‘language’ of abstraction but also the risks, processes, and civic engagement embedded within it.
Saul Appelbaum James, will you tell me a little bit about the white paintings for your first solo exhibition at Petzel Gallery?
James Little: I did them for this particular show called Conversations, and they’re an extension of my ideas around white painting, color painting, shaped forms, and patterning design. It’s pretty much me talking to myself aesthetically. And I just go back and forth, back and forth.
If I hadn’t had this show, I would still work these ideas out. It just so happened that everything aligned, and it worked out perfectly. The gallery space uptown is in a townhouse, and it’s beautiful. Tall ceilings, very intimate. I decided that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make something that would fit nicely in that space.
SA Within your larger body of work, there are the color-field geometric abstractions, similar to the studies behind you. You have the black and white paintings that were in the Whitney Biennial. Will you tell me more specifically about the white paintings in this context?
JL It’s going to be different iterations of the white painting. This is ongoing. None of these things is a pit stop. They are my ideas, but because I did a group of these doesn’t mean I won’t do that anymore. I probably won’t do that particular thing, but it’s going to be something that came out of the idea.
It’s like a crosscurrent of ideas. I don’t just stick with one. That’s not me. I like to paint about what I’m thinking about, and I have a lot of different thoughts every day. I wake up and get something I might want to explore. It doesn’t mean these thoughts are simple. It’s a science of problem-solving.
I can’t tell you what the next painting will look like. I have an idea, but I have to mentally prepare myself for my next painting because it’s a lot of work. I just know what’s in front of me. The canvas you’re looking at wildl be a painting at some point, and I have to do a lot of work to get there. Then there’ll be another one and another one...
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