Aurelians 2016

James Jean made "Aurelians" in a time and place that feels suspended between waking and dreaming. The colours are so bright, so precisely placed, that they seem to vibrate against the canvas. The whole thing feels like a process of layering and revealing, like he's digging deeper into some hidden world. Looking at it, I get a sense of building up the image through many thin layers of paint. The surface feels smooth, almost polished, yet the colours pop with this raw, almost electric energy. I love the little details, like the butterfly perched on the girl's shoulder, or the way the light catches the edge of the net. They remind me that making art is about paying attention to the small things and letting them lead you somewhere unexpected. It reminds me a little of Yayoi Kusama's obsession with patterns and repetition, but with a darker, more unsettling edge. In the end, it's a reminder that art is a conversation, a back-and-forth between artists across time and space.