DANA JAMES
THE ENCHANTMENT ROOM

KÖNIG GALERIE
7 MARCH – 13 APRIL 2025

OPENING
6 MARCH 2025 | 6 – 8 PM

KÖNIG GALERIE is pleased to present a solo exhibition by New York-based artist Dana James, marking her debut with the gallery. On view in the Chapel of St. Agnes, THE ENCHANTMENT ROOM explores femininity, memory, and transformation through a distinctive blend of color, texture, and material.

James’s paintings are defined by a dynamic interplay of pastel hues and bold, energetic strokes, creating a visual tension between softness and intensity. Working with recycled canvases, she infuses each piece with a sense of history and impermanence. This practice of repurposing materials reflects on the transience of time and memory while expanding her visual language in an unexpected way.

Dana James, SACCHARINE (PART II), 2024

As James describes, THE ENCHANTMENT ROOM evokes "the glinting of the ocean, the magic of nature’s vastness as a child, and the flashing of color just before drifting into sleep." Soft pinks, yellows, and browns, punctuated with iridescent pigments, conjure moments of transition, where the familiar slips into the surreal and the known becomes momentarily elusive.

Central to James’s practice is her exploration of contradiction – the tension between beauty and chaos, clarity and abstraction. Her works are rich in texture, inviting the viewer to engage with the physicality of the surface. The subtle juxtaposition of pastel tones with deeper, darker hues continues her exploration of themes such as femininity, vulnerability, and power.

THE ENCHANTMENT ROOM offers a rare opportunity to experience James’s evolving approach to painting, where color, texture, and recycled canvas converge to reflect themes of change, beauty, and the passage of time. The exhibition invites the viewer into a liminal space – a room of transformation where memory, fantasy, and reality intertwine.