Jim Graham’s paintings are most often recognized for their thin layering of imagery and intense chromatic surfaces. Grahams work relates to a group of contemporary painters opting for a more varied image making process that devalues the importance of a singular object and focuses on creating new combinations within a rich visual society. As a result, the images fluctuate nimbly between historical norms of representation and abstraction allowing for a more immediate response to a fresh and active present. 

Graham received his MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BFA from Florida State University. His paintings have been exhibited in both independent art galleries and academic institutions throughout the country including recent shows at the Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans and the Sella-Granata Gallery at the University of Alabama. He has also been a visiting artist and lecturer at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville. He was a 2015 Joan Mitchell Foundation Emerging Artist Grant nominee and a 2017 State of Louisiana Research Grant recipient. Graham currently lives in Covington, LA where he is an instructor of painting and drawing at Southeastern Louisiana University.