James Little (born 1952) is an American painter and curator. He is known for his works of geometric abstraction which are often imbued with exuberant color. He has been based in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Early life and education

Little was born in 1952 in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, and grew up in the segregated American South. He is from an

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

family. He studied at the

Memphis Academy of Art Memphis College of Art (MCA) was a private art college in Memphis, Tennessee. It was in Overton Park, adjacent to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. It offered Bachelor of Fine Arts, Master of Fine Arts, Master of Arts in Art Education and ...

(now known as Memphis College of Art), while a student his work was praised and selected in 1973 for an exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center by Gerald Nordland. He received his BFA degree from Memphis Academy of Art in 1974. In 1976, Little obtained his MFA degree from Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York.

Career

Little cites Mitchell along with Barnett Newman,

Mark Rothko Mark Rothko (), born Markus Yakovlevich Rothkowitz (russian: Ма́ркус Я́ковлевич Ротко́вич, link=no, lv, Markuss Rotkovičs, link=no; name not Anglicized until 1940; September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Lat ...

Franz Kline Franz Kline (May 23, 1910 – May 13, 1962) was an American painter. He is associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s. Kline, along with other action painters like Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mot ...

Alma Thomas Alma Woodsey Thomas (September 22, 1891 – February 24, 1978) was an African-American artist and teacher who lived and worked in Washington, D.C., and is now recognized as a major American painter of the 20th century. Thomas is best known for t ...

, and George L. K. Morris as among the artists whose work he most admires. He has said of the modus operandi of his own work (that)......"Abstraction provided me with self-determination and free will. It was liberating. I don’t find freedom in any other form. People like to have an answer before they have the experience. Abstraction doesn’t offer you that." Critic

Karen Wilkin Karen Wilkin (born 1940) is a New York-based independent curator and art critic specializing in 20th-century modernism. Biography Educated at Barnard College (1962) and Columbia University, she was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship and a Fulbri ...

has called Little's work (as possessing of a) “ravishing physicality" and . . . "orchestrations of geometry and chroma to delight our eyes and stir our emotions and intellect...”. In 1976, his work was the subject of the solo exhibition ''Paintings by James Little'' curated by Ronald Kutcha at the

Everson Museum Everson may refer to: People with the surname * Ben Everson (born 1987), English footballer * Bill Everson (1906–1966), Welsh international rugby union player * Cliff Everson, a New Zealand car designer and manufacturer * Corinna Everson (born 1 ...

in Syracuse. In 1980, Little's work was included in the exhibition "Afro-American Abstraction", curated by April Kingsley, at

MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, the ...

. In 2002, Little's large commission for the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

was unveiled. Riders at

Jamaica Station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

now travel through his 85-foot-long environment made of 33 multicolored laminated glass panels in a prismatic design, each measuring at 17-feet tall by 5-feet wide. In 2020, some of Little's large-scale black-tone paintings were shown in a two-artist exhibition with the work of

Louise Nevelson Louise Nevelson (September 23, 1899 – April 17, 1988) was an American sculptor known for her monumental, monochromatic, wooden wall pieces and outdoor sculptures. Born in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (present-day Kyiv Oblast ...

, who was represented exclusively by the black colored sculptures, for which she is most known. The exhibition titled ''Louise Nevelson + James Little'' ran from September 3, 2020 until October 28, 2020 at Rosenbaum Contemporary in Boca Raton, Florida. Little's work was included in the

2022 Whitney Biennial The 2022 Whitney Biennial, titled ''Quiet as It's Kept'', is the Whitney Museum's art biennial, hosted between April and September 2022. Described by Artnews as the "most closely watched contemporary art exhibition in the United States", the b ...

. Little currently teaches at the Art Students League of New York. Little was formerly represented by the June Kelly Gallery in Manhattan and is now represented by

Louis Stern Fine Arts Louis Stern Fine Arts is an art gallery located at 9002 Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, California, in the heart of the city’s Avenue of Art and Design. History and development Louis Stern Fine Arts was founded in 1988 by Louis Stern, a second ...

West Hollywood West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages ...

and the

Kavi Gupta Kavi Gupta is a contemporary art gallery owned by gallerist Kavi Gupta. Headquartered in the West Loop neighborhood of Chicago, the gallery operates multiple exhibition spaces as well as Kavi Gupta Editions, a publishing imprint and bookstore. K ...

Gallery in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

where his work will be the subject of a forthcoming solo exhibition in November 2022. His work is the subject of the 2005 paperback edition ''James Little: Reaching for the Sky'' which features 13 color reproductions of his pieces and essays by

Robert C. Morgan Robert C. Morgan (born 1943) is an American art critic, art historian, curator, poet, and artist. Biography Robert C. Morgan received his M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1975 and his Ph.D. in art education f ...

, George N'Namdi, Al Loving, Robert Costa, Horace Brockington, and James Haritas.

Awards

In 2009, Little won a

Joan Mitchell Foundation Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was an American artist who worked primarily in painting and printmaking, and also used pastel and made other works on paper. She was an active participant in the New York School of artis ...

award. He has also been the recipient of a

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expressio ...

grant.

Curation

In 2019 Little curated the exhibition "New York Centric" at the

American Fine Arts Society The Art Students League of New York Building (also the American Fine Arts Society and 215 West 57th Street) is a building on 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in the Frenc ...

gallery which included the work of multiple generations of abstract artists associated with the great Metropolis including

, Alvin Loving,

Larry Poons Lawrence M. "Larry" Poons (born October 1, 1937) is an American abstract painter. Poons was born in Tokyo, Japan, and studied from 1955 to 1957 at the New England Conservatory of Music, with the intent of becoming a professional musician. After ...

, Stanley Boxer, Peter Reginato,

Dan Christensen Dan Christensen, (October 6, 1942 – January 20, 2007) was an American abstract painter He is best known for paintings that relate to Lyrical Abstraction, Color field painting, and Abstract expressionism. Christensen was born in Cozad ...

Ronnie Landfield Ronnie Landfield (born January 9, 1947) is an American abstract painter. During his early career from the mid-1960s through the 1970s his paintings were associated with Lyrical Abstraction (related to Postminimalism, Color Field painting, an ...

Gabriele Evertz Gabriele Evertz (born 1945 in Berlin) is an American painter, curator and professor who is applying the history and theory of color in her work. She is known for abstract color painting and Geometric abstraction. Life and work Gabriele Evertz ...

Charles Hinman Charles Hinman born 1932 in Syracuse, New York is an Abstract Minimalist painter, notable for creating three-dimensional shaped canvas paintings in the mid-1960s. Early years Charles Hinman was born in 1932, in Syracuse, New York. He initiate ...

, Thornton Willis, Doug Ohlson, Robert Swain, and

Ed Clark Edward E. Clark (born May 4, 1930) is an American lawyer and politician who ran for governor of California in 1978, and for president of the United States as the nominee of the Libertarian Party in the 1980 presidential election. Clark is an h ...

Solo exhibitions

*2021 Chromatic Rhythm - James Little: Paintings on Paper, Sarah Moody Gallery of Art, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee *2020 James Little: Dots and Slants, Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA *2018 Slants and White Paintings, June Kelly Gallery, New York *2016 Informed by Rhythm: Recent Work by James Little, Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA *2015 Color/Barriers: Recent Work, essay by James Harithas, June Kelly Gallery, New York *2013 Never Say Never, essay by Karen Wilkin, June Kelly Gallery, New York *2011 Ex Pluribus Unum: New Paintings, essay by Mario Naves, June Kelly Gallery, New York *2009 De-Classified, Recent Paintings, essay by James Harithas, June Kelly Gallery, New York *2007 James Little: Untold Stories, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, TX *2005 Reaching for the Sky, essays by Robert Costas, James Harithas, Al Loving, G. R.;N’Namdi Gallery, New York; catalogue *2003 Beyond Geometry: New Paintings, essay by Robert C. Morgan, L.I.C.K. Ltd. Fine Art, Long Island City, NY *1995 Recent Abstract Paintings, Kenkeleba Gallery, New York *1992 James Little: Selected Works from the Past Decade, Lubin House Gallery, Syracuse University, New York *1990 Tondos and Ovals, essay by April Kingsley, June Kelly Gallery, New York *1989 James Little: Recent Paintings, The Christian Science Church, Boston, MA *1988 James Little & Al Loving: New Work, June Kelly Gallery, New York *1987 New Paintings, Liz Harris Gallery, Boston, MA *1985 James Little: Format Paintings, Harris Brown Gallery, Boston, MA *1982 Recent Oil Paintings, essay by April Kingsley, Alternative Museum, New York *1976 Paintings by James Little, curated by Ronald Kuchta, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY

Group exhibitions

*2022 Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It's Kept, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York *2021 The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture, and the Sonic Impulse, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia *2019 New York Centric, Art Students League of New York, New York *2019 The Shape of Abstraction: Selections from the Ollie Collection, St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, Missouri *2018 Color/Line/Form, Rosenbaum Contemporary, Boca Raton, Florida *2018 The Masters: Teachers and Their Students, Art Students League of New York and Hirschl and Adler Modern, New York *2017 Celebrating 30 Years, Gallery Artists: Drawings and Photographs, June Kelly Gallery, New York *2016–2017 Circa 1970, curated by Lauren Haynes, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York Beyond Borders: Bill Hutson & Friends, University Museums, Mechanical Hall Gallery, University of Delaware *2015 Decoding the Abstract Unlimited Potential, curated by James Austin Murray, Lyons WierGallery, New York Outside the Lines: Color Across the Collections, curated by Tricia Laughlin Bloom, organized by the Newark Museum, NJ Works on Paper: Selections from the Gallery, Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood, CA. *2014 Black in the Abstract, Part 2: Hard Edges, Soft Curves, organized by Valerie Cassel Oliver, Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, TX, catalogue * 2012 Today’s Visual Language: Southern Abstraction, A Fresh Look, curated by Donan Klooz, curator of exhibitions, Mobile Museum of Art, AL; digital catalogue What Only Paint Can Do, curated by Karen Wilkin, Triangle Arts Association, Brooklyn, NY *2011 ABSTRACTION (Abstraction to the Power of Infinity), curated by Janet Kurnatowski, organized by the American Abstract Artists, The Ice Box, Crane Arts, Philadelphia, PA *2010 Abstract Relations, collaboration between the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland and the University of Delaware Museums, co-curators Dr. Julie L. McGee and Dr. Adrienne L. Childs, University of Delaware, Mechanical Hall Gallery, Mineralogical Museum, Newark, DE It’s A Wonderful 10th, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY *2008 Shape Shifters: New YorkPainters, The A.D. Gallery, University of North Carolina at Pembroke; catalogue 2007 Three One-Man Exhibitions: James Little, Aimé Mpane, George Smith, Station Museum of Contemporary Art, Houston, TX; brochure *2006 The 181st Annual Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary American Art, National Academy of Design, New York; catalogue Neo-Plastic Redux, Elizabeth Harris Gallery, New York *2005 Different Ways of Seeing: The Expanding World of Abstraction, The Noyes Museum of Contemporary Art, Oceanville, NJ Optical Stimulations: American Abstract Artists, Yellow Bird Gallery, Newburgh, NY 50 Plus, Holland Tunnel Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Raising the Bar: James Little and Thornton Willis, Sideshow Gallery, Brooklyn, NY *2004 Seeds and Roots: Selections from the Permanent Collection, The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York A Century of African American Art: The Paul R. Jones Collection, University of Delaware, Newark, DE Abstract Identity, Pelham Art Center, NY *2003 Theories: Abstract New York, Roger Ramsay Gallery, Chicago, IL *2002 No Greater Love, Abstraction, Jack Tilton/Anna Kustera Gallery, New York Ajita – Unconquerable, The Station, Houston, TX; catalogue 500 Works on Paper, Gary Snyder Fine Art, New York Amplified Abstraction, Chapel, Plantage, Doklaan 8-12, Amsterdam, Holland *2001 Painted in New York City: Viewpoints of Recent Developments in Abstract Painting, Hofstra Museum, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY; catalogue Dialog and Discourse, Dolan Center Gallery, Friends Academy, Locust Valley, NY *2000 Significant Pursuits: Paint and Geometry, Smack Mellon Studios, Brooklyn, NY Straight Painting, The Painting Center, New York *1999 Straight No Chaser, The Puffin Room, The Puffin Foundation, New York The Art of Absolute Desire, 450 Broadway, New York The Power of Drawing, Westbeth Gallery, New York *1998 New Directions ‘98’ 14th Annual National Juried Fine Arts Exhibition, Duchess County Art Association, Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY New York Eight, Luise Ross Gallery, New York Works On, With and Made Out of Paper, Sideshow 195, Brooklyn, NY The African-American Fine Arts Collection of the New Jersey State Museum, New Jersey State Museum, Trenton, NJ Postcards from Black America, curated by Rob Perrée, De Beyerd, Center for Contemporary Art in Breda, Netherlands, and the Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem, Netherlands; catalogue de leugenaars/the liars (I) Helder en Verzadigd Clear and Saturated, Arti et Amicitiae, Amsterdam, Holland Color, Matter, Energy, Galerie Maria Chailloux, Hogeschool van Amsterdam, Holland

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, James 1952 births Living people Abstract artists 20th-century American painters American curators African-American painters African-American curators Artists from Tennessee Syracuse University alumni 21st-century American painters Memphis College of Art alumni