“LOVE & WAR” - Eleanor James

Opening December 6th, 6 to 8 pm

Show runs through Jan 10th, 2026

Artist Statement

"Hope is being able to see there is light, despite all the darkness." Tutu 

I find the balance of life to be a struggle, as I'm sure most of us do. How do we find the light through the darkness, the soft within the rigid, the kindness amongst the hate? My artwork reflects these juxtapositions of contrasting emotions and circumstance in life. I often create geometry softened with landscapes, skeletal structures against botanical studies, soft pastels next to vibrant fluorescents in a way that mirrors this equilibrium in my mind. I want my viewers to connect on a personal level with my work and remind themselves of the struggles they have fought, that they have worked hard to show up, to care, to be strong and to be kind. I want to bring out their emotions and experiences so they can be sincere and raw with their reflections of life. I hope to connect with people on a vulnerable level where we can find compassion, kindness and love for ourselves and one another.

The “Love and War” Show is a group of works that are very close to my heart. It is a presentation of works called “Rob and Mary” and is a dedication to my grandmother Mary, and her brother Robert. Mary lost him when he was just 18 years old in WWII . She spent her life missing him and remembering him with a small red poppy in the visor of her car, as if he was along with her for her journeys on earth. Only 3 months after Mary’s passing in 2022 were the remains of Rob found in Normandy, France, almost 8 decades after his life was lost.

I believe that my grandmother, “Nana” had to find her brother in the afterlife. This series of work is a tribute to the reuniting of their souls.

Artist Bio

Eleanor James is a painter, illustrator and sculptor who captures the beauty and pain of the world in her contrasting pieces of art. Born in Birmingham, England in 1982, Eleanor emigrated to the United States at the age of three with her family and one trunk with their life’s belongings. From working as a gardener in her younger years to a landscape architect by trade, she has always brought the elements of art and nature together. Eleanor is a self-taught artist who works out of her home near the Manasquan Reservoir and out of a studio at PXTS Gallery in Matawan, New Jersey.

Eleanor’s work focuses on the use of acrylic paints, watercolors, inks, and spray paints. The diversity of mediums allows her to adapt her work to her mental state. The compositions tie together this love for nature with the challenges of life. The balance of the hard and the soft, the light and the dark. The use of geometry and hard lines mixed against soft rolling landscapes and backgrounds mimics how her mind sees the world. In presenting her art, she hopes to invite you into her thought process and see how she tries to balance the pain and beauty of this lifetime.

Eleanor’s work has been shown in exhibitions throughout New York and New Jersey including The Torche Gallery, ChaShaMa Gallery, Brooklyn Waterfront Artist’s Coalition, The Monmouth Museum, art629 The Oyster Point Gallery, The Atlantic Highlands Arts Council, and The Locals Art Gallery, Long Branch Arts and Cultural Center and Galerie Lucida. She is an advocate for environmentalism and animal welfare and donates much of her time to local organizations.

See More of Her Work at:
www.Eleanorjames.com
http://instagram.com/eleanorjamesart