JUMPIN & JIVIN' is an original hand drawn, limited edition lithograph(not a photo reproduction or digital print) by the American artist James Denmark printed on archival Somerset paper, 100% acid free using traditional hand lithography techniques. James Demark's JUMPIN & JIVIN'captivates the viewer with its vibrant colors featuring a live jazz club scene pumped up with bright stage lights, and a five man band whose musical instruments include a grand piano, drums, guitar, standing bass, and saxophone. JUMPIN & JIVIN' is a wildly colorful collage composition with five snazzy musicians dressed in eye-catching shades of bright yellow, green, red, violet blue, pink and purple all jammin' their spirited rhythms.
Print size - 30.5 x 27 inches, unframed, mint condition, pencil signed and numbered by James Denmark, print documentation provided
Image size - 23.25 x 23 in.
Edition size - 250, plus proofs
Year published - 1996
Printer - J K Fine Art Editions Co., NJ
Publisher - Mojo Portfolio, NJ
James Denmark, born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936 is one of the few masters of collage. He utilizes an exacting process to cut and assemble brightly hand colored papers, fabric and objects into familiar figures and images. Denmark’s grandmother, a wire sculptor and quilt artist, exposed him to color and form at an early age. He was also influenced by his grandfather, a bricklayer noted for his unique custom design molds.
Denmark attended Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU) in Tallahassee, FL where he studied under the artist and acclaimed African-American art historian, Dr. Samella Lewis, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. After graduating from FAMU, Denmark moved to Brooklyn, NY and began teaching art in the public school system. Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at the prestigious Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. After graduating from FAMU, Denmark moved to Brooklyn, NY and began teaching art in the public school system. Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at the prestigious Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. While at Pratt, Denmark was heavily influenced by the abstract expressionists, admiring such mainstream artists as Jackson Pollock, Clifford Still, William de Kooning.
The African-American masters Norman Lewis, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Ernest Crichlow instilled in him an appreciation of African/American artistic heritage and it was during this time that Denmark’s work underwent a stylistic transition as he began experimenting with collage.
He has had over 60 one-man exhibitions and has participated in numerous group shows. His artworks are a part of well recognized private and corporate collections in United States, as well as in Mexico, South Africa, Europe, Japan and Africa, including New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Denmark has received numerous awards and commendations including the 39th Annual Printing Industry Award given by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and The Living Legends Award presented by the National Urban League.