Ian James Roche

Ian James Roche was born in New York City in 1979. From an early age, he was drawn to abstract drawing and graffiti, filling notebooks with spontaneous mark-making. Music played a formative role in shaping his artistic sensibility.

After completing degrees in Culinary Arts and interdisciplinary studies, Roche experienced a pivotal encounter with Sol LeWitt and Richard Serra's work at Dia Beacon in 2014. Inspired by their monumental scale and directness, he began creating his first 8 × 4 ft pastel works on sheetrock.

Working from his studio in Commack, New York, Roche produces large-scale pastel wall drawings, ink on paper, and colored pencil works. His practice is rooted in spontaneity — he works without preliminary sketches, allowing each piece to evolve organically on the surface.