Biography
(b. 1953 in London, lives and works in New York)
James Nares’ paintings and projects seek to capture the very moment of their own creation.
They are most frequently made in a single brushstroke, recording a gestural passage of time and motion across the canvas. Using brushes of his own design, he repeatedly creates and erases his strokes, over and over again, until he feels he has made one that represents a precision of balance between intent and improvisation.
Nares’ films and videos reference many of the same preoccupations with movement, rhythm and repetition, while also ranging further afield in their scope.
His work is included in a number of public and private collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of Art, and the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. In 2008, Anthology Film Archives hosted a complete retrospective of his films and videos. In spring 2013, Rizzoli published the first monograph dedicated to James Nares’s work in all media over the last four decades.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2013 Road Paint, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York
2012 Street, Wadsworth Athenaeum, Hartford, CT
2012 "1976: Films and Other Works" Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York
CineMarfa Film Festival, Marfa, Texas
2010 "Mixed Use, Manhattan: Photography and Related Practices 1970s to the present,” Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid
“New Paintings and a Film,” Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles