James Seward

Robilant+Voena is pleased to present an exhibition of paintings by New York-based artist James Seward, entitled In Between. The twelve works in the exhibition are taken from Seward's acclaimed series Embrace, that offers a visual distillation of famous embraces taken from the world of cinema. Blending the artist's impressive technical skill with painterly sensitivity and emotional reflection, the paintings are a contemplation on human relationships, and the polarities of recognition and anonymity, movement and stasis. This exhibition expands upon the artist's landmark solo show at the Hudson River Museum, New York, in 2024.

In Between brings together twelve paintings, depicting two figures, or occasionally a group, engaged in a natural and profoundly human act – that of hugging. The title of the exhibition, In Between, alludes to the placement of the viewer at the heart of the embrace, emphasizing the potency of such a moment shared between people, both visually and emotionally. Each subject is based on a specific embrace from a film – from black and white classics such as It's A Wonderful Life (1949), to recent Oscar-winners including Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) – which the artist isolates, enhances through detailed research, and commits to paint. Freed from their situational context, these embraces encapsulate the full range of human emotions, from fear to relief, despair to joy, moments of greeting and parting, and are at times intentionally ambiguous. The artist invites viewers to immerse themselves in the paintings and to engage with their innate reactions, regardless of whether they are familiar with the characters depicted or the film on which embrace is based. By picturing the hug, through its very nature an ephemeral act of interpersonal connection, and memorializing it in paint, Seward allows us to consider an otherwise overlooked interaction, shining a light not just on the relationship between the subjects, but also on ourselves and our own relationships with others.

James Seward was born in El Paso, Texas in 1979. He received his BFA at the Savannah College of Art and Design. He has exhibited in several museums and galleries throughout the United States; his painting My Father in The Living Room of Our 10th House was accepted into the first Boochever Portrait Competition at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Peter S. Reed Foundation grant. 2024 marked Seward’s inaugural solo museum show, at the Hudson River Museum, with the exhibition Embrace: Cinematic Moments.

His work has been published on the cover of Newsweek Magazine, and in the LA Times, Ritz Carlton Magazine, New American Paintings, and American Art Collector. Previously, he worked for several years as an assistant painter for the internationally renowned artist Jeff Koons. Seward currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.