James Penfield was born in St. Paul, MN in 1983 and is based in Minneapolis. He started showing work in 1999, at the MN State Capital and went on to study fine art and art history at UC Boulder and Hamline University, in MN, followed by graphic design at the New School in NYC. He was involved in the music scene in Minneapolis when he was going to Hamline, designing album covers and t shirts, showing artwork and painting live on stage with musicians playing. After that experience, he traveled around the west coast, exploring and working odd jobs to keep going. Moving back to Minneapolis he picked up again with the music scene, continuing to show and work with other artists. Next was NYC to study graphic design at The New School in NYC, where he interned with Vice Magazine and worked in the city, freelancing as a graphic designer. After leaving NYC he moved to Minneapolis to continue working as an artist and to be closer to the mountains. His work is collected in public and private collections across the US. Penfield bases his work on phenomenology and how it relates to nature, location and the self. He started to show work in the Western US while living in NYC. He grew up with a passion for snowboarding and lived in Boulder for a bit, before leaving involuntarily from a crash, so this all made sense. The first show he was accepted into was titled “Bold New West” in 2013 at a gallery in Denver, CO. Penfield’s artwork features loose, painterly, gestural abstractions that capture the essence of Western mountains, animals, and cowboys. His dynamic brushstrokes and vibrant colors convey the rugged beauty and spirit of the West, creating evocative and expressive pieces that celebrate this iconic landscape and its inhabitants.