James Paul Kocsis

James Paul Kocsis (April 27, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an independent American painter and book illustrator best known for his vibrant, expressive oil portraits. He called his painting style “psychic impressionism” and said the paintings sprang from his subconscious during studio sessions with the subjects. Kocsis disparaged what he saw as the destructive impact of commercial galleries and dealers on art. Throughout his life, he arranged all his own shows and sales. This period coincided with the neo-expressionist era in late 20th century American art, and Kocsis’s style shows affinity with the movement in his use of vibrant colors, passionate and energetic brush strokes, dense layers of paint, and large canvasses. While his paintings ranged from abstract to realistic, they always focused on a recognizable human face, particularly eyes, to depict human emotion. He suffered bouts of severe paranoia and had a career-long loathing of art galleries and dealers, believing they corrupted the artistic process and wanted to exploit him. As a result, absent commercial representation, Kocsis spent much of his life aggressively promoting his art, for which he was occasionally ridiculed. He arranged his own private sales and organized his own shows, arranging 42 shows in more than two dozen countries on six continents over 35 years.

Death James Paul Kocsis died on Dec. 28, 2021, at the age of 85. He is buried in Nisky Hill Cemetery in Bethlehem, PA, next to his wife, Carol.

Exhibitions

1974 – Colombia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC, USA 1976 – Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA 1979 – Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia 1982 – Jilin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China 1986 – Kendal Museum, Kendal, England. 1988 – Trinity College, Oxford University, Oxford, England 1990 -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Atlanta, Georgia, USA 1995 – India International Center and Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi, Inia 1999 -- Casa de Cultura Jesus Reyes Heroles, Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico. 2003 -- The Academy of Athens University, Athens, Greece 2005 -- Hermitage Museum Library, St. Petersburg, and Dostoevsky Museum; Staraya, Russia 2009 -- Église St.-Germain l'Auxerrois, Paris, France.