Tiger III 2014

Here is an audio guide script about James Jean's Tiger III. James Jean made this painting, Tiger III, using a really limited palette. It’s a wash of grey-blue, with these striking red-brown marks contouring the figures and forms. The surface has this watery, diluted quality, almost like ink bleeding into wet paper, which really gives the piece this ethereal feeling. There's a really lovely tension between the very controlled, elegant lines of the composition, and the freedom of the wash in the background that Jean coaxes from the paint. Look at the way the diluted paint drips slightly at the bottom of the image! The drawing style is kind of Art Nouveau meets manga, and I think the limited palette allows us to focus on the sinuous line quality. The way that line animates the whole composition is really beautiful. Jean's work reminds me a lot of Yoshitaka Amano's illustrations, where there is this beautiful blending of western art historical traditions with the language of Japanese illustration. For me, that’s where the magic is. Art is about embracing the multiple and the fluid, so don’t get hung up on fixed meanings.