Jamie Nares

Jamie (formerly James) Nares is a British-born, New York-based artist who has been a significant figure in the downtown Manhattan art scene since the late 1970s. Born in London in 1952, Nares moved to New York in 1974 and became embedded in the vibrant No Wave movement, participating in experimental film, music, and visual art. They were a founding member of the influential post-punk band the Contortions and contributed to the landmark No Wave Cinema movement, directing films such as 'Rome '78' (1978), a guerrilla-style Super 8 film that captured the raw energy of the era. Their early work established him as a restless interdisciplinary artist deeply attuned to performance, time, and movement. Nares is perhaps best known for his large-scale paintings and videos that explore the aesthetics of gesture, motion, and mark-making. His celebrated video work 'Street' (2011), shot in slow motion on the streets of New York City, transforms the mundane flow of urban pedestrians into a lyrical, almost painterly spectacle, earning wide critical acclaim and extensive museum exhibition. Their paintings, often executed with long, sweeping single brushstrokes, reflect a profound engagement with the physicality of paint and the tension between control and spontaneity. These works demonstrate a mastery of gestural abstraction informed by his deep interest in calligraphy, music, and the choreography of the body. Nares has exhibited widely at institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and is represented by Paul Kasmin Gallery (now Kasmin Gallery) in New York. Their work bridges disciplines — film, painting, and music — and occupies a unique space in American art that connects the energy of the downtown avant-garde with a sustained, rigorous studio practice. His contributions to No Wave culture and his ongoing innovations in painting and moving image have cemented his reputation as a quietly essential figure in contemporary American art.