James Denmark

James Denmark was born into a creative environment from both sides of his family. His
mother was gifted with an intuitive for collecting art objects, and she expressed a fastidiousness for design and detail. His grandmother developed her talents in wire sculpture and as a quilt maker, while his grandfather was a craftsman noted for his custom- designed molds and bricklaying skill. As a child, Denmark was exposed to color and form. This rich beginning is the root of his creative expression. Denmark attended Florida A & M University on a track scholarship. While pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, he came under the tutelage of the artist and acclaimed African American art historian, Dr. Samella Lewis, who gave him exposure to the great traditions and accomplishments of the African American art movement.

Denmark’s work underwent a stylistic transition after studying at Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in Brooklyn, New York, where he began experimenting with collage, quickly developing his own unique and easily identifiable style. With brightly hand-colored papers, found papers, fabric, and objects, Denmark creates compositions that go beyond the superficial and transitory and focus instead on that which is universal. Galleries and collectors worldwide consistently and eagerly seek his collages, watercolors, woodcuts, and reproductions. Denmark spent great portion of his professional career in Brooklyn, New York. He and his wife, Ethel, now reside in the town of Yemassee in the Low Country of South Carolina where he continues to work while she manages The Denmark Gallery based in their home.