James Langer

James V Langer studied Painting with Robert d’Arista and Reed Kay, and Drawing with Arthur Polonsky and John Wilson, among other professors at Boston University, where he was awarded Prince Philip’s Silver Medal from the British Royal Society of Arts for his figure drawings and portraits, graduating magna cum laude, including some graduate-level credits in the study of Comparative Religions through the University’s Professors Program. He served as an undergraduate teaching assistant for non-majors taking Design and Composition under Prof. Joseph Ablow, and was Painting studio assistant to Prof. Kay, and in the Etching lab for Prof. Sidney Hurwitz. He also was part of the art library’s staff, creating visual resources. He was awarded several scholarships and recognitions for his academic and artistic output, including being named a Howard Thurman Scholar. He graduated with a BFA degree in Painting.

During his graduate studies, he assisted Prof. Richard Gantt in his Art History course, Prof. Walter Barker in his Drawing & Composition course, and received the prestigious Holderness Fellowship. He matriculated with a Drawing and Painting MFA degree.

He worked through his early adulthood as an artist, teacher, and professional actor and clown, touring the Carolinas and Virginia with a children’s theatre, performing in Shakespeare in Connecticut, exhibiting in multiple galleries in New England , Virginia, and NC. He came to GC in 1995 as an adjunct teaching Intro to Visual Arts, and has served on several committees and as the Chair of the Department of Art, as well as Director of the Galleries, which he continues to do. He teaches Drawing, Painting, and Art History, and has taught Computer Graphics and relief sculpture, plus team-taught courses in Honors and Holocaust studies.

He lives on a 20-acre farm in Randolph County, with two children, his wife, dog and cat, and many deer, turkey and a barred owl. His studio is a converted 1800 log cabin, with the same moody light that he sees in the work of his hero, Rembrandt. He strives to paint and draw grubby portraits, silly Expressionist caricatures, and occasionally emerges like Gollum, to try his hand at Impressionistic landscapes of his barn and woods.