James Haramis

1-26 June, 2011

This is James Haramis debut exhibition. It is not often we see such mature work from an artist exhibiting for the first time and it is a unique privilege to witness this unveiling.

James has had little formal training in painting. At 16 he took part in a Victorian Education Department gifted children’s program which partnered him with mentor Aileen Weinberg, who taught James the basic principles of tonal painting. Apart from this, James is self taught. That same year he became the youngest member of the Victorian Artists’ Society.

Life’s circumstances saw that James didn’t pursue a career in painting instead he worked in industrial sculptural design for many years and later as an industrial painter, which he continues to do today. A few years ago his wife Desiree encouraged him to take up his finer paint brushes again and for a period of about six months James painted intensely. However for various reasons, including the belief that there was no point to continuing painting when the works were just filling up his house, he became disheartened and stopped painting.

Last year with the prospect of an exhibition, James began painting again and has been working fervently to put this exhibition together. Most of the work here has been done in the last eight months; however there are some works on show that are from the period of painting three and a half years ago and also one work entitled Early Landscape that was done 22 years ago, when James himself was 22 years old.

James is a self confessed loner and it is probably this ‘lonerism’ that has resulted in such evocative work. His work draws you into the picture and makes you feel as if you are the only one there. The images appear so deceptively simple, so straightforward but somehow they are completely mesmerising, holding your gaze, long after you stop consciously thinking about them.

James paints entirely from his head. He attacks the canvas, painting very fast, occasionally puncturing the canvas with such forceful attacks. He also paints very thinly which is a difficult skill to master well. The landscapes are all places he has spent long periods of time in – such as the west coast of Victoria, Gippsland and perhaps most significantly, the old police paddocks in Bundoora, where James often took refuge during his childhood and youth. These long periods spent observing nature seem to remain within James. The landscapes he paints are familiar and yet strange. You feel like you know the places he has painted or that you may have once passed through them.

They are landscapes that draw you in, massage your senses and haunt you when you leave. To stand in front of them is to be taken into a contemplative state of mind. In front of James’ work you are conscious of being in the presence of something very special.

Most excitingly James’ describes this debut exhibition as his ‘warm up’ and he is excited and planning for the next phase in his career.