About

About James K-M (Bio written by Carol Sill)

Vancouver painter James K-M’s prolific recent work is abstract, geometric and metaphysical. Since returning to painting in 2006, his solo exhibitions include Colouring (Baron Gallery, Vancouver, BC, 2010), Free Rain Mural (Edmonton, Alberta, 2009), and Cave Paintings (Simon Fraser University Teck Gallery, Vancouver, BC, 2008, and the Kootenay Gallery of Art, Castlegar, BC, 2007), with work in recent group exhibitions Paleofuturity (Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, Kingston, Ont., 2011), Group Exhibition of Contemporary Art (Baron Gallery, Vancouver, BC, 2010) and Los Artistas Magos, (Council Of Fine Arts, Camagüey, Cuba, 2009/10). An accomplished presenter, K-M has given artist talks and panels at the SFU Teck Gallery, Baron Gallery, the Museum of Anthropology (Vancouver), Camagüey Council of Fine Arts, and the International Symposium on Electronic Art (Montreal and Amsterdam).

Before 2006, K-M created digital paintings and exhibited innovative interactive works worldwide. Digital explorations were a natural progression from K-M’s established earlier foundation: abstract geometric paintings on canvas or wood, whose exhibition had received critical review in c Magazine, Vanguard, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, and Issue Magazine. K-M was nominated Bravo TV Digital Artist of the Year (1997) and went on to curate five annual digital print exhibitions, and co-found the Digitalis Digital Art Society (2001-2005). An inspiring educator, K-M taught creative process, media literacy and digital media creation at the Vancouver Film School, Langara College and the Centre for Digital Imaging and Sound (CDIS). James K-M lives in Vancouver, B.C. and has been painting and exhibiting in Canada and internationally since 1978.

And how does this art of decoration differ from the tattoo? Or is this the etymology of tattooing? Of course the paint makes it possible to see the bones as sculptural artifacts instead of as old bones once living. They have new life as retrieved clichés–now archetypal.
Eric McLuhan, 2012

With an economy of means, relatively simple geometric patterns painted with acrylics and stain on plywood, K-M has been working through permutations of a code whose implications could be apocalyptic.
Michael Davidge, Director, Modern Fuel Artist-Run Centre, 2011

The fact that the artist doesn’t appear to know or is not interested in reading about the meanings of symbols and the pre-existing conventions of certain anthropological and mythological characteristics of the geometric and numerical expressions perceived in his works doesn’t mean that his perceptions are not valid. Many of these perceptions show that James’ abstract painting is directly linked to the ideographical and esoteric tribal arts, for magical and metaphysical symbols live within it.
Pavel Alejandro Barrios Sosa, Centro Provincial de Artes Plásticas, Camagüey, Cuba, 2009

Out of extremely objective systemization comes extreme subjectivity.
Bill Jeffries, Director, Simon Fraser University Gallery, 2008

Artist website: http://jameskm.wordpress.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/alienesque

James K-M can be contacted at: electric(at)telus(dot)net