James Crowther

About

James Crowther first helped to launch the New Art Projects space at 6 Sheep Lane in 2015 with his amazing installation. This new show with the gallery will be his third, and he has returned to his signature ‘cutout’ portraits.

During the lock-downs of 2020/21 James Crowther has been creating new cutout portraits that explore themes of identity whilst celebrating humanity.

Cutting the figure from the background denies the audience any other narrative or context to inform them, rather the finished ‘shaped’ paintings focus entirely on the sitter. This emphasises physical differences in how we all portray ourselves to the world. It is through his attention to detail and his skill at ‘capturing’ his subject that the sensitivity of their inner psyche is revealed. 

For this new series, his source material has been gained directly from the media available via magazines, newspapers photographs, screengrabs, social media and any socially distanced way available. He has also painted key workers who have faced the pandemic head on, however his especial focus in this series is inspirational women, who have had an impact with out recognition, Crowther refers to the “un-celebrated in history; women – the inspirations…”