• James Deitz - Works
  • Exhibition: February 3 - March 6, 2020
  • Reception and Talk: February 13 @ 6pm
  • View catalog
James Deitz painting

 

Excerpt from the catalog intro by Kristin Showalter

James Deitz describes his work as collage to narrative but I would describe him as a visual narrator; a storyteller. Some of the stories we already know, they are clear and concise, wrapped in neat little boxes, their imagery obvious with familiar themes. Others are more abstract; nuanced forms layered with meaning and personal experiences that take time to navigate; their surfaces as built up as the slice of life they show. These intimate vignettes, painted in neutral colors with contrasting compliments, are what define James Deitz’s latest works.

The imagery he uses changes based on what needs to be said and how it needs to be expressed. The visual content runs the gambit, ranging from pop-culture and politics to literal moments of stillness and quiet reflection. James is unafraid to approach political strife, sexual taboos, and social issues in his work, making each piece something intricate and interesting to explore. When delving into his artworks, I treat each piece as a story, with a unique voice, knowing it will have something to tell me. Some works have small forms nestled in unlikely places, giving them a tongue in cheek quality. Others are loud and bold saying exactly what they mean, and still others are more subtle, layered with cunning uses of color and subtle contrast that can only be discovered upon thorough inspection.

Works expands across the human condition and tells stories from life. It will ask the hard questions that viewers must quietly answer. James collage to narrative style takes the viewer on a journey through their own experience and beautifully captures these life stories in a way that is personal, honest, and intimate. I hope every person who has the opportunity to peek into the windows of these little vignettes has time to appreciate the gift that James is giving them, a look behind the curtain, a true look at who they are. I hope they can empathize with each piece and be receptive to the reaction the works induce. There is no greater gift than a good story and this is what James Deitz Works provide us with.


Art in Action (Student Exhibition in Printmaking)

  • January 5 - February 5, 2010
  • Reception: January 7 at 5:30 pm
  • Artist Talk: 6:00 pm
  • Inside Pages.pdf

The recent work of James Deitz occupies an imaginative, constantly shifting terrain synthesizing memory and observed images in a style that preserves the particularities of experience even as it transforms them into iconic forms stripped to their essentials. The originality of Deitz’s technique lies in his effort to reveal the formal elegance of phenomena not by blurring them, but by bringing their irreversible physicality into sharp focus. In developing this unique approach, he has embraced influences as diverse as Morandi, Tamayo, Hopper, Guston and Rothenberg.

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James Deitz Curriculum

Artist Statement

My work is my statement.

Updated: May 30, 2023