Between her masterful brush strokes and brilliant use of color, Yellena James invokes a completely vivid and unmistakable world. To enter this terrain is to immerse yourself in a thriving landscape of pure majesty and seemingly endless dimension. It's all rendered with such epic precision that the viewer can practically feel the life-forms moving across the canvas, an entire abyss at their disposal. Imparting relaxation and awe to equal effect, her paintings generate boundless discovery and the perfect visual escape.
“In my work, I always strive to create a sense of levity on the canvas,” says James. “I focus on environments that exist within alien atmospheres and forms that thrive within a diverse range of external forces. For my show, Weightless, I'm working in an array of different mediums and substrates, including acrylic paints, gouaches, and inks, on canvas, clayboard, and primed wood panels. Each piece is done intuitively without planning or sketching. And there is a moment that arises while making each piece, when I can see the final steps clearly and the artwork begins to reveal itself. In those moments, every hint of pressure dissipates. It lifts. All of it. And I am weightless.”
Chefas Projects is located in Portland, Oregon at 134 SE Taylor Street on the first floor of the Taylor Works building. The exhibition will be on view through November 18, 2023 and is free and open to the public.
