My paintings and drawings are observations of the city especially the people and places I call everyday which to me means subjects we generally see as unworthy of attention, overlook or ignore. I recall how as a child growing up in a city where life on the street seemed simultaneously exciting, beautiful and mysterious in its ordinariness. I was drawn to this and have been a sidewalk observer all my life.
The architect Louis Kahn said the city "is a place where a child can wander to find what they will do their entire life.' When I was younger this inspired me to spend many hours walking in the city. I’ve come to think that Kahn wasn't speaking necessarily about children, but all - that is, that we are all, in some sense, the child who wanders, who asks, who wants to see more.
James Acevedo
New York City