A native New Yorker, James first began to draw and paint as a young child. In his early teens, he was accepted to the School of Art and Design in Manhattan. Roughly a decade later he attended The Art Student League of New York. He studied there for five years, three of those under the tutelage of renowned artist, Theodore Stamos. Stamos (1922-1997) was one of the youngest painters of the original group of abstract expressionist painters (the so-called “lrascibles”), which included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko. Stamos singled James out, providing him with private lessons and making him class monitor. Over time, the student and his mentor developed a life-long friendship.
James’s spacious studio in rural Connecticut provides ample room for the painting of his large canvases, many of which are on display in private as well as public collections in the US and Europe. Through textured stratum, his layered and de-layered paintings allow geologic shapes and abstract organic forms to emerge and disappear. Light plays on the surface, energizing the colors. Bursting through overlays of pigment, evocative patterns juxtapose natural forms with inorganic surfaces. You can view his work at www.jdimartinoart.com.
One Man Shows:
Gallery One
Icelandic Airlines
Venture Marketing
Foote, Cone, Belding Gallery “36”
Republic National Bank
Galleria di Leonarda di Mauro
Group Shows:
Gallery One
Long Beach Art Association
White Plains Association
Salmagundi Club
Aames Gallery
Galleria d’ Arte di Leonarda di Mauro
Sandra K. Bertsch Fine Arts
Museum of Nation Art Foundation
IBEX Corportation, Washington, D.C.
Morrison Gallery
Awards:
Concours Award 1970, granted by a Committee Board of Control & Art Instructors
Participant in Visual Arts Referral Service (VARS) 1980: Sponsored by Creative
Artistis Service Program (CAPS)