James Fenner’s Startling, Stylized Dreamscapes

James Fenner is a young artist whose work nevertheless dwells in the hazy, melancholic territory of the past. A freelance illustrator and student at the Art Institute of Portland, Fenner’s deceptively simple tableaus reveal, upon further reflection, layers of storytelling and a multiplication of meanings.

To enter his world is to step into a half-remembered dream, whose precise details escape us, but which leaves us with unshakeable intimations of either doom or euphoria. The stars of these dreams are solitary wanderers through a medieval fairy tale landscape: dark woods, winding streams, lurking creatures and spirits. The stylized figures, themselves often adorned with mythological flourishes like antlers or horns, also resemble nothing more than the central characters of both our fairy tales and our dreams: that is, ourselves, as children, searching for a place of safety and solid identity in a terrifying world.

Indeed, Fenner seems to take solace in facing both his fears and his dreams through his art. In “Smultronstället” – meaning a “place of personal escape and relaxation” – a young girl takes refuge in a forest clearing. Elsewhere, his illustrations depict an alien abduction on a beach as well as being lost at sea. The natural ambiance of the Pacific Northwest seems to inhabit his aesthetic, with foggy mountains, towering pines, and crashing ocean scenes infusing his drawing.