Biography
James Valente Banta is a Filipino-American painter and mixed media artist who has exhibited widely in Italy and his native New York.
My artwork is informed by geography, politics, and film. In my mixed media works, I often use slides as a repetitious collage element that connects various subjects and represent memory “cells.”
While traveling at home or abroad, I am compelled to document my experiences which are sometimes limited to a particular setting, or at times reflective of universal themes. My artwork is a personal, visual travelogue.
After completing a B.A. in Art History and Studio Art at Connecticut College, and studying at Studio Art Centers International in Florence, Italy, I earned a degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania. I work in architectural conservation and the preservation of historic buildings and monuments, mainly in New York City.