- CLASS OF NOV. 10TH IS CANCELED -

Victoria James was born in London (UK) in 1974. She grew up and developed her artistic career in both Switzerland and the United Kingdom. She now splits her time between the United States of America and Europe. Her passion for expressing herself through imagery started as a child through drawing and painting. She majored in Art for her international baccalaureate and got offered a place at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London. There she obtained a degree in Fine Art sculpture and started out as a sculptress and installation artist in her early twenties. She went back to her initial love of painting and drawing ten years ago. She has spent the last years studying and applying classical rules of palette and golden ratio composition. She is particularly interested today in using both of the latter as the structural basis to her work as well as her love of writing which she weaves into the layers of her paintings. 

Victoria’s unique style of image-making was forged over the years of her practice. Motivated by her inherent sensitivity and desire to find ways to express herself through imagery without the need for words, her work has continued to evolve over the span of her career. As with her earlier sculptural work, Victoria’s paintings are dramatic and demand engagement. Through her individual form of visual language, she aims to communicate with the individuality of her public. Her paintings and drawings will echo the remnants of abstractly familiar scenes or lead us into unknown spaces of colour and discovery. Described in the artist’s own words, she creates “sensorial landscapes intentionally left open to personal interpretation”.

She translates into imagery personal experiences and the experiences of those who surround her. She paints vibrant flowing pieces with sharp contrasts of light and darkness; bold colours and intense brushstrokes break the light creating beautiful effects. The influence of her sculptural background can be found through her use of texturing and layering. She uses these layers as much to create texture as to resonate interpretation deeper than surface level.

Victoria James has exhibited internationally in both solo and group shows, previously by her maiden name, Oldham. She is currently preparing for a series of exhibitions in the United States in which she will show her recent work.