TWO WOMEN TALKING. 5 ½” X 7 ½”, COLLAGE ON BOARD
Born: Winter Haven, Florida, 23 March 1936. Education: Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, Florida, B.A.; Pratt Institute of Fine Arts, New York, 1973-76, M.F.A., 1976. Awards: Living Legends Award, National Urban League, 1980; Thirty-Ninth Annual Printing Industry Award, Schomburg Center, New York.
During his time at Pratt, Denmark was surrounded by a well-endowed art community and influenced by several ideologies, specific artists, and movements. In particular he studied and looked to the ideas and styles of African American masters such as Romare Bearden, Ernest Crichlow, Jacob Lawrence, and Norman Lewis. Denmark was also greatly influenced by mainstream abstract expressionists such as Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, and Clyfford Still. With his newly expanded artistic involvement, Denmark’s style underwent a prominent change. He began to experiment with the essentially improvisational medium of collage. Using paper, found objects, and fabric, Denmark developed a personal, identifiable style.
(Minderovic, Christine Miner. (1997). Denmark, James. In T. Riggs & Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. St. James guide to Black artists. (pp. 140-141). Detroit: St. James Press)
