Eternal Spiral II——Jame Jean

James Jean sometimes seems to have fallen out of time; he’s inhabiting so much of the stuff—so much time!—all at once. These are syncretic stories that Jean retells in his new mythologies, drawing variously from ancient Greek and Biblical texts, plus a full range of folk stories ranging from the Germanic fairy tales to Japanese, Chinese, and Korean sources, as well as ethnographic research into the traditional costuming of West Africa, Tierra del Fuego, and pagan Europe. Elements from various cultural backgrounds merge under the artist’s brush and are shaped into a universally historical landscape, suggesting one art-history-making process, a gradual engineering of an assemblage of characters, environments, and plotlines. By creating a constant give-and-take between the diminutive moments of the everyday and the grand culture-scapes of mythology, the artist is able to evoke a collective global unconscious, a way of being outside of the self, and reveals the historical and cross-cultural aspects of his artistic creation.

James Jean encourages viewers to interpret his work in their own ways. His tendency to move seamlessly between European and Chinese painting traditions creates a unique focal point within the work, opening up possibilities for understanding it from a multitude of perspectives. By constantly editing, erasing, and redrawing to balance these different sources elements, Jean creates a whirlwind of energy, leading us along a spiral path.

This exhibition presents a series of paintings, sculptures, animations, sketchbooks, sketches, color studies, and prints, sharing James Jean’s artistic journey of more than two decades and analyzing his unique styles, techniques, and narratives. As we walk down the staircase into the artist’s ethereal state, we are also able to glimpse ourselves. Like the Descendent, we might feel like powerless individuals in the face of uncertainty; in reactivating our desire for conversation through these images, however, we are able to grasp out for each others’ hands in the eternal spiral.

——Robin Peckham