SOLO
“Solo,” by James Linehan, oil on canvas 40 x 30

James Linehan graduated from Arizona State University in Tempe with a BFA in 1974. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he earned his MA in 1976 and his MFA in 1978. Art professor and former chairman of the UMaine Department of Art for seven and a half years, James has been with the University of Maine since 1983. From that time to the present, Linehan’s academic accomplishments include chairing committees that led to the renovation of Lord Hall and the addition of a BFA degree to the Art Department’s curriculum. Additionally,Jim participated in the planning, design, and fundraising for the Wyeth Center for Studio Art, that came to fruition in September of 2013.

Linehan’s work has been exhibited extensively in New York City and throughout the United States, as well as one solo show in Tokyo,Japan; two in Sapporo, Japan; Finland and Jordan. He has completed twenty public commissions, including fifteen for the Maine Arts Commission “Percent for the Arts.” James’s work is represented in thirty public and corporate collections including L.L. Bean, Bank of America, The Portland Museum of Art, Bates College, US Department of State Art Bank, Texaco, UNUM, Eaton Vance of Boston, MBNA and the Farnsworth Museum.

 

Screen-#2-Verso
“Screen #2” Verso

Painting the landscape of Downeast Maine began years ago in the beach at Rogue Bluffs, lupine fields on the Cranberry Isles, and the blueberry barrens and Walker Pond in Brooksville. The Schoodic Peninsula and Mount Desert Island inspire his current suite of work.

“When people ask what I do, the first thing I say is that I am a painter. I think in paint and look at the world as a painter. Over the years, I’ve explored a number of different styles with my work. I like combining abstraction with representation, the collision of abstract and realistic imagery, and the way meaning arises from the space between these battling modes of expression.”