StandardVision Artist Showcase: Surrealist Portraits by James Owen at Melrose & Spaulding

In collaboration with Vellum LA, StandardVision is currently featuring award-winning artist James Owen’s XAVIER portrait series on the large-scale curved exterior digital facade at Melrose & Spaulding, on view through October 10th.

Fascinated with the concepts of body language and non-verbal communication, Owen created his powerful XAVIER series to inspire the viewer to think about how they connect with the work and its subject. By covering up Xavier’s eyes, the artist hopes to draw viewers to the other details present within the pieces—the textures, colors, and environments—revealing a unique narrative of the portrait’s subject which only exists between the viewer and the work. The minimalism of the series reflects Owen’s creative interests in reducing things down to their most simple and cleanest aesthetic in the hopes of forcing viewers to look beyond what is visible to what lies beneath.

James Owen is an award-winning artist and designer with a unique visual style. The artist has spent over a decade crafting iconic content for the world’s top brands and leading agencies, and now finds himself more focused on long-term projects in the pursuit of craftsmanship and artistry.

NFTs of the XAVIER series were released on SuperRare and include transcendent music which James Owen collaborated on with London-based musician Josh Gallagher. Catch the portraits on view at the exterior digital media facade at Melrose & Spaulding in Los Angeles through October 10th, and learn more about Owen’s work on his Instagram.