Jim Gaylord

Jim Gaylord was born in Washington, North Carolina in 1974 and lives and works in New York City. He earned his MFA from the University of California, Berkeley (2005) and his BA from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro (1997).

Gaylord works with constructions of hot-pressed watercolor paper, cast marble, and resin pieces, which embrace themes of iconography, formalism and geometry. Using the blade of an X-Acto knife to hand-cut heavy watercolor paper (produced by St. Cuthberts Mill in England), Gaylord defines a precise edge, forgoing the unruliness of the brushstroke. “Living in New York City, I’m able to observe examples of high and low relief on the façades of skyscrapers, churches and municipal buildings, and certain features have made their way into my work. Through years of exploring the capabilities of the heavy paper I use, I have developed a visual vocabulary that draws references to these architectural motifs, as well as geometry, biology and anatomy.”

Gaylord sees parallels between human design, physical anatomy, plants and natural structures. The titles of the works are based on the artist’s experience with the forms — both in how they sound and look. The title of the work at 110 Horatio Street “Echelon Slalom”, refers to the layers and levels and the zig-zag route as the composition draws the eye through the formation. The artist keeps a notebook of words that connect to his work and titles the pieces with combinations that capture the lyrical nature of the artworks.

Jim Gaylord’s work has been exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collections of the Berkeley Art Museum, the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and The Museum of Modern Art, New York. He has received fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Joan Mitchell Foundation and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. Gaylord has completed residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo and the Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program.

JIM GAYLORD

Echelon Slalom, 2024

cutout watercolor paper

34 x 26 x 1 inches