James Rizzi was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1950 and died on December 26, 2011.

James Ritz graduated from the Art Department of the University of Florida. In the United States, James Leeds has always been considered the orthodox heir to Andy Warhol, the legendary master of modern art in New York.

Appreciating the works of James Leeds, you will be surprised to find that his works retain the characteristics of children's paintings: curiosity, innocence, love of bright colors, and unconstrained imagination. Colorful, full of life, full of humor - these are the typical characteristics of James Leeds's work and world view.

While James was not a creative trailblazer, he was known for his clean lines, boyish style, bright colors and comical imagery. For decades, the New Yorker has been delighting collectors and legions of fans around the world with his creations. Step by step, he created his own colorful world, full of happy pictures, and sprinkled his vision of a happy life and joy.

James Rizzi’s work is almost saturated with scenes from New York City: cars and taxis, hot dog stands and the Hudson River, the Guggenheim Museum and the Central parks, Brooklyn Bridge and Broadway.

He participated in the design of Volkswagen's new model "Beetle" and the latest encyclopedia published by Brockhaus Publishing House. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of Condor Airlines, Ritz designed a very exotic skin ("Ritz Bird") for a Boeing 757 aircraft. His paintings were used as covers for CD records, and his paintings were even used in the Atlanta Olympics.

“A lot of my work is about New York, but most importantly about the people, about their way of life.” New York is a multicultural society, with people of all cultural backgrounds, religions and languages People live in harmony. In my work I want to portray the positive side of New York, I want to show how privileged we are to have such a rich and diverse society and that living in such a community can be so much fun. Ritz's work shows that New York is a social model that the world might want to follow. They also suggest a way to live in harmony and bridge potential differences between cultures, languages ??and upbringing systems: see life through innocent eyes - their own eyes as well. See what is beautiful in this world and don't forget to smile for all of us: smile.

Ritz’s paintings are not only infected by children’s works, but also incorporate the styles of famous painters in art history: Dubuffet, Hundertwasser and Picasso. We find traces, clear traces, in his earlier works and subtle hints in his precise latest works. James Rizzi combines various sources of inspiration into a style that others are looking for but struggle to achieve.

In return, Rizzi hopes that anyone, even children, will be able to relate to his artwork without being influenced by traditional aesthetic attitudes.

Produced by Huayi Art Editor

July 8, 2019