FEATURED ARTIST OF 2016
Damien James
As a visual artist and writer, Damien James is affilliated with National Geographic, Art21, The Reader, New City, Aldo Castillo, badatsports, Human Thread Gallery, You Are Beautiful and The Sketchbook Project, among others. Self taught and working in Chicago for the last 20 years, making art, sharing thoughts and open communication are priorities for this dynamic individual.
James' new body of work, entitled "Notes to Self" is best summed up by the phrase: "abstracted language to illustrate how meaning changes over time." The seeds of this series were planted back in 2012 when the artist began creating abstracted text forms based on a large (12-foot tall) piece of his which was a literal illustration of one sentence from a short story he acquired the rights to illustrate.
More recently, words and phrases taken from post-it notes and random writings that fill the artist's home and workspace have been transformed into more permanent reminders, while other pieces are trigger phrases that the artist is trying to purge due to negative effects on the psyche. The change which is reflected in the new work revolves around the ending of a 13 year relationship with the mother of his children. While living through a time of transformation and growth, this artist's work has also undergone transformation and growth.
Damien James' new work will be on exhibit for the first time at Art Depth's 7th Annual (click here for details).