Alive Again: James Love

Jun 28
2 min read

Alive Again returns as a continued body of work by North Carolina–based artist James Love, expanding on themes first introduced in a previously unreleased 2021 exhibition. The exhibition explores emotion, self-awareness, and the complicated process of returning to ourselves after periods of distance, pressure, or disconnection.

Initially inspired by conversations and readings on emotional management, Alive Again centers on raw, unrehearsed expression. Love allows emotion to exist in its unfiltered state, while also pointing toward a deeper question: What responsibility do we have to manage, shape, and express our emotions in ways that do not bring harm to ourselves or others?

The resulting works are layered, improvisational, and deeply rooted in process. Drawing from his experiences in church, freestyle expression, music, and everyday life, Love works with an intentionally accessible range of materials, including paint, paper, found objects, and digital tools. His process involves building, covering, removing, and returning—allowing each piece to develop through movement and discovery rather than through a predetermined outcome.

This emphasis on process is central to the work. Love does not seek perfection or polish. Instead, the layers, marks, interruptions, and revisions remain visible, creating works that feel immediate and honest. Each piece captures a moment of becoming: something is added, something is obscured, something resurfaces, and the work continues.

Across its two locations at Delta Arts Center and Sherwood Forest United Methodist Church, Alive Again considers what it means to come back—to self, to feeling, and to awareness. The exhibition recognizes that returning is rarely a straightforward process. It can involve confronting what has been buried, sitting with difficult emotions, and finding new ways to understand what we carry.

Rather than offering fixed answers, Alive Again creates space for viewers to pause and engage with what surfaces. The works encourage us to consider our own emotional landscapes and the ways we navigate, express, suppress, revisit, and reshape what we feel.

In this way, Alive Again is not simply about emotion. It is about the ongoing practice of being present with ourselves—and finding a way forward.

About the Artist

James Love is a North Carolina–based visual artist working in abstraction, assemblage, and collage. His practice is rooted in improvisation and shaped by experiences in church, music, and everyday life. His work focuses on layering, process, and the use of accessible materials to create pieces that feel direct, honest, and open to interpretation.