James "COMPUTRxJ∆MØ" Patterson

Born October, 1992, in Roanoke, Virginia,

 

    James Patterson is an artist whose work is deeply rooted in both the personal and historical. Raised by his mother, Corretta L. Patterson, and father, Tanimula L. Phanelson, James carries a legacy shaped by his great-grandfather, James W. Patterson Sr., a revered tobacco farmer and moonshiner, and his foremothers, who were trailblazers in their own right. His paternal great-grandmother, Bishop Elsie Warren Witcher, was one of the first Black women in Southwest Virginia to earn a clerical degree, and her pioneering spirit helped establish New Design United Pentecostal Church, one of the region's oldest Black congregations. On his father’s side, his great-grandmother, Myrtle Lynn Bolden Phanelson, who was a centenarian and key figure in the founding of Jerusalem Baptist Church, was a leader who navigated the complex cultural and geographical migrations during the Great Migration, from the South to New York and Chicago, before returning to her roots in Virginia.

 

    James’s exploration of his family's history has become a touchstone for his artistic practice. Through the lens of genealogy, he has come to understand not only the trials and triumphs of his ancestors but also the broader narratives of survival and resistance within the African Diaspora. His journey as an artist has been a continual search for meaning within this complex historical web—traversing the landscapes of the English Atlantic Triangle Trade, the Trail of Tears, and the cultural evolution of the Black church, alongside the literature, artifacts, and landmarks that bear the weight of truth.

 

    James's academic pursuit led him across the country, ultimately earning his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) which was one of the oldest private art institutions on the North America. This path of study has not only enriched his technical practice but also deepened his research into the economic, social, and religious forces that have shaped the Black American experience, both historically and in the present day. These threads of exploration have brought him into conversation with artists, scholars, and thinkers, enriching his understanding of the cultural aporia and the shifting contours of identity and legacy. James completed his undergraduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) focused on Painting & Printmaking.

 

    Since completing his MFA, James’s focus has shifted away from traditional painting to a more expansive inquiry into existential questions: “What is my place in this world? Does it have significance in the grand scope of things, either on a micro or macro scale?” This ongoing search for answers has propelled him forward, now guiding his artistic and intellectual compass to his hometown, Roanoke, VA  to continue his art practice. Here, he stands poised to push past the distractions and distortions of reality, to create some of his own—the "funhouse mirrors" of societal political constructs—toward a clearer, genuine, authentic vision of his own personal "figment/fragment of reality, time, and space" and the volatile, ever-evolving world we inhabit. 

    The Artist, the Art, and the Anthropocene.