By painting over photographic inkjet prints, James Hyde redefines his own experiences and subsequently how we perceive painting, photography, and nature’s aesthetic. An avid traveler, Hyde photographs scenes of California which he prints and mounts over canvas. He then paints over the inkjet print with acrylic, allowing abstract shapes and bands of color to interact with printed shrubs or lake shores. This combination of acrylic and inkjet disrupts the normal viewing process, forcing viewers to examine the fundamental tropes and techniques of painting and photography. Hyde was born in Philadelphia in 1958 and currently lives in New York, teaching at The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art and The Cooper Union for Advancement of Science and Art. He is the recipient of several prestigious grants, including the Pollock-Krasner Grant (2011-12), Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship (2008), Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship (2000-01), among others.
