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Unlimited Layers: Art by Jimmy James Greene
- Jimmy James Greene
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
Garden Spices came across the artwork of Jimmy James Greene on his social media profile. His art, characterized by its profound subjects and thoughtful use of color, was invited and embraced on our pages. Gate open. - Victorine
About Jimmy James Greene
Since his childhood in Xenia, Ohio, Jimmy James Greene has shown exceptional artistic ability. After apprenticing with acclaimed Afrocentric muralist Jon Onye Lockard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Greene graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has gone on to become an accomplished collagist, painter, draftsman, and designer who also works with stained glass, printmaking, and mosaic tile. For the past thirty-five years, his work has explored the communal expressions of the African diaspora in general, and those of the African American experience in particular. “I see myself as a visual storyteller,” says Greene. “The styles I use range from tight representation to abstracted forms, depending upon my intent, but the bottom line is communication. Ideally, my work will act as a springboard for the viewer into their own imagination, their own experiences, memories, and aspirations.”
As a fine artist, Greene has executed over thirty-one-person exhibitions and innumerable group showings. As a commercial artist, he has created theater posters, CD covers, and numerous illustrations for newspapers, magazines, and books to his credit.
In addition, Greene has been commissioned to create public works of art by the New York Transit Authority, the New York City Parks Foundation, MetLife, and St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Brooklyn. “Public commissions are like coming full circle,” says Greene. “I started out as a mural apprentice and now I’m doing similar large-scale works that have to be fabricated to last for centuries, to be seen by thousands of people yearly!”
“Art isn’t like sports – it’s not about the fastest run or the most points scored in a game. Art is about expressing a point of view, one’s self, and there are a whole lot of points of view,” Greene says. “There are many ways of seeing life’s experiences. There hasn’t been a culture on the face of the earth that didn’t express itself through art, and I believe there isn’t a person who doesn’t respond to art on one level or another. We’re just wired that way, thank God.”
One of Greene’s ongoing series, Ancestral Layers, is a hybrid of his colorful, abstract collages layered beneath representational, transparent paintings on plexiglass. “Miles Davis said the sky's the limit when you’re creating a new thing, and with Ancestral Layers, that’s what I feel. We all live in layers; our past informs our present. We live within multiple layers. It’s personal, it’s familiar, it’s racial, and it’s about culture and class. It’s all that at once, and it affects everyone. You can’t swim in the water and not get wet.”
For the past thirty years, he has resided in New York City as an arts educator and a working artist.
Primarily watercolors with some acrylic paints and colored pencil added on acid-free, 140lbs. watercolor paper
size 10"x14", framed 16"x20"
$300
Acrylics on Canvas, 21”x31”, $800
JIMMY JAMES GREENE is a well-known artist and educator from New York City. His work has been shown in over 30 one-person exhibitions and innumerable group showings. As a commercial artist, he has theater posters, CD covers, newspaper, magazine, and book cover illustrations to his credit. One of his well-known public works is The Children's Cathedral mural, commissioned by the New York Transit Authority at Utica Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, NY. Since his childhood in Xenia, OH, Jimmy James has shown exceptional artistic ability. After apprenticing with acclaimed Afrocentric muralist Jon Onye Lockhard in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Greene graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. Since then, he has gone on to become an accomplished collagist, painter, draftsman, and designer who works with stained glass, printmaking, and mosaic tile. For the past 25 years, his work has explored the communal expressions of the African Diaspora in general and those of the African American experience. For more detailed biographical information, please copy and paste the link below.
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