James Bullough Paints Fragmented Dancers in “Breaking Point”

Looking at the art of James Bullough is like looking at reality through the shards of a shattered mirror. The American born, Berlin based artist’s paintings and murals, featured here on our blog, have become instantly recognizable for his mixture of realism and abstraction. Bullough describes his work as “altered reality”, a style leaning towards photo-realism and working with a combination of materials including oil, acrylic, latex and spray paints.

Bullough debuted a new series of paintings at Thinkspace gallery in Los Angeles over the weekend with his show “Breaking Point”. The series features prime examples of his abstraction of the figure, where he slices and shift elements or plays with negative space breaking through them. “I’m constantly trying new things and different ways to alter the imagery I’m working with. There are also underlying themes dealing with body image and male vs. female perceptions of each other,” he has said.

Using dancers from his local Berlin as muses, Bullough’s new works are a study of the human form in motion, which he dissembles into fragments, seemingly demonstrating an abstract movement. As the figures “break” into pieces, the dynamics of the moving figure are emphasized. The aspect of the dancer is infused in every aspect of his art, including its materials: working on canvas, reclaimed wood flooring from a Berlin dance studio, and panel. “Breaking Point” by James Bullough will be on view through June 18th.

“The human form is possibly the oldest and most repeated theme in all of art. I can think of no other subject in the realm of imagination more fascinating, tantalizing, familiar, provocative, and graceful than the human body and the endless possibilities of its positioning and movement. The human form is something that all people can relate to and connect with and is a perfect tool to create mood and emotion in a painting.”