James Jean

In his large-scale paintings, James Jean depicts detailed cosmological worlds filled with allegorical and contemporary imagery. He incorporates elements of traditional Chinese and Japanese scroll paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, Renaissance portraiture, comic books, and anime into these complex compositions. As he experiments with such different styles and art historical genres, Jean diminishes the boundary between new and old, and between Eastern and Western artmaking. He has also worked as an award-winning cover illustrator for Marvel and DC Comics and collaborated with brands (Prada, Apple) and musicians (My Chemical Romance, Linkin Park) on commercial projects. Jean has exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, Seoul, and Tokyo, among other cities. He has designed film posters for Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!, Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water, and Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049.