James Ross is a celebrated New Zealand
abstract painter whose work mixes architectural, sculptural and
painterly elements. Ross' paintings are characterised by the use of
multiple compositional elements, most notable of which are the
interplay between organic motifs and rigid geometric forms; a use
of vivid, often primary, colour; and an insistence on rejecting the
traditional mode of painting as a canvas-based medium in favour of
shaped structural supports, unconventional mounting angles and
elliptical glass finishing.
As one of the first intake of students
to the inaugural Bachelor of Fine Arts course at Auckland
University in 1967, Ross was
tutored in painting by Colin McCahon. As his career
has progressed, he has been involved in many aspects of cultural
life in New Zealand, including writing, curating exhibitions,
teaching art criticism and editing catalogues and books. Ross has
been the subject of major solo exhibitions and is represented
widely in major New Zealand public art institutions as well as many
private collections. The Red Studio, a recent
retrospective at Auckland University's Gus Fisher Gallery, focused
on Ross' particular fascination with the use of deep hues of red
and his gradual movement from organic to rhomboidal formats and
motifs over the past 25 years.