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Laura James
The Book of the Gospels
and Other Work
January 12 - March 12, 2004
in the Boardroom

I first saw the work of Laura James in the new Book of the Gospels, published by Liturgy Training Publications in 2001. This handsome volume, designed to be carried in procession and read aloud in the midst of the assembly, features thirty-five of her paintings, commissioned especially for it. This exhibition includes 11 of those images, plus a number of others with scriptural themes.

Washing Feet

Although James is a self-taught artist, her innate sense of design, form and color were informed by her study of icons in the Ethiopian tradition. Like the sacred images on which they are based, these paintings feature bright colors, intricate patterns, and large, expressive eyes on the faces of angels, people, and animals.

In the work entitled “Visitation,” Mary and her kinswoman Elizabeth embrace before an arcaded building, surrounded by stylized trees with nesting birds. A field of flowers grows at their feet, and the small, colorful buildings of a city may be seen in the distance. As in a Persian miniature or a cartoon, each object is distinctly outlined and filled in with flat, intense color, so that the eye dances around the image, dazzled by the complex, jewel-like surface. It is as though all creation rejoices with the two women who stand in mutual wonder, awaiting the birth of their children.

In “Washing Feet,” Jesus is seen kneeling at the feet of one of the disciples, as others tiptoe their way from the table where they have dined with him, shedding their sandals along the way. Both women and men wait their turn, looking at Jesus and at one another with varied expressions of wonder and amazement. Although there are many figures in the scene, each is clearly an individual rather than just a face in a crowd. As in “Visitation,” here, too, the bright, flat colors heighten the intensity of the moment, as if one is already present in God’s eternal realm.

Other paintings reveal the artist’s delight in her medium as well as in the stories that come alive with her brush. It is with great pleasure that I present It is with great pleasure that I present Laura James and her illustrations for The Book of the Gospel and other biblical works to the Wesley community.

Deborah Sokolove
Curator, Dadian Gallery

for more information on Laura James and other examples of her paintings, see
www.laurajamesart.com
 

send comments or questions about the gallery to the curator at:
dsokolove@wesleysem.edu

the copyright of individual works of art belongs to the relevant artist
please do not copy or distribute