In James Gortner’s paintings, his personal conflicts, moods, and dreams combine with stories and magical myths of the past to create newly imagined myths. Gortner‘s paintings lean into sculpture, sometimes referencing photography, and involve circumstances and processes akin to performance. He often incorporates reclaimed wood and sustainable materials in his paintings which add physical texture and tension and enhance the narrative with fantastical abstractions of storytelling.

Gortner’s identity as an artist is rooted in his hybrid of spiritual practices, artistic influences, and technical virtuosity as a painter. His points of reference range from large-scale history painting and contemporary abstraction to experiential and conceptual art. Gortner intends to create vehicles of contemplation that evoke greater awareness of our collective environment, interconnectedness, and transformation.

Painter James Gortner received his B.A. from Hawaii Pacific University and his MFA from Columbia University. Gortner’s work has been exhibited at The Fisher Landau Center for The Arts (New York), Mana Contemporary (New Jersey), San Bernardino County Museum (California), RW Norton Art Gallery (Louisiana), The LeRoy Neiman Gallery (New York), Lyons Wier Gallery (New York), Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery (Connecticut), and Dittrich & Schlichtum Gallery (Berlin). His work has been featured in print in New American Paintings (North East Edition), New American Art Collector Magazine, Men’s Journal, and the Berliner, among other publications.

His artwork is included in the collection of the Eileen S. Kaminsky Family Foundation, Jimenez-Colon Collection, and the Wooster Collective as well as the private collection of President Jiang Zemin of China and actress Reese Witherspoon, among others. James Gortner lives in New York.