About

In James Gortner’s paintings, his personal conflicts, moods, and dreams combine with other people’s stories and magical myths of the past and present to create new myths. Gortner‘s paintings lean into sculpture, sometimes reference photography, and involve circumstances and processes akin to performance. He usually incorporates reclaimed wood and sustainable materials into his paintings, as well as paints on layers of reclaimed artist’s paintings, adding physical texture and tension to enhance the narrative, or abstract the storytelling at play.

Gortner’s singular identity as an artist is rooted in his hybrid of spiritual practices, artistic influences, and his seemingly unlimited technical freedom as a painter. His points of reference range from large-scale History Painting and Contemporary Abstraction, to experiential painting and conceptual art (All of which get re-evaluated and renewed in Gortner’s work). Gortner intends his paintings to be vehicles for contemplation of our environment, interconnectedness, and transformation.

Painter James Gortner received his B.A. from Hawaii Pacific University and his MFA from Columbia University. Gortner’s work has been exhibited at The Fisher Landau Center for the Arts (New York), Mana Contemporary (New Jersey), San Bernardino County Museum (California), and the RW Norton Art Museum (Louisiana). His work has been featured in print in New American Paintings, New American Art Collector Magazine, Men’s Journal, and The Berliner, among other publications. His art resides in both public and private collections. James Gortner lives and works in New York City.