Raven 2020

James Jean’s ‘Raven’ is a painting that seems to have appeared fully formed, but no doubt involved a lot of back and forth. The color palette is like a dream – muted but vivid, a combination that suggests both fantasy and melancholy. The surface texture looks almost airbrushed, incredibly smooth, as if the paint has been applied in layers. The lines are so sharp and the color is so flat that it could almost be a print. There's a playful element with the layering of the figures which at the bottom are cut off abruptly at the hip. It reminds me a bit of the surreal illustrations of someone like Yoshitaka Amano, particularly in the way he blends fine art with pop culture. Ultimately, ‘Raven’ invites us to consider how art can be an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas, and how ambiguity can be a strength, offering multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings.