BIO
After graduating with an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins in 2002, James Robert Morrison (b. 1979 Elgin, Scotland) worked in the cultural sector for 17 years before returning to his art practice in 2019. Since then, he has been highly commended for the Young Masters Art Prize (2025), shortlisted for the Derwent Art Prize (2022), selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2021), won the Mervyn Metcalf Purchase Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (2021), and received a special commendation at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (2020). His work is held in the UK Government Art Collection, the Neal Baer Collection, the Rudolph Blume Collection, and private collections worldwide.
ARTIST STATEMENT
James’s work explores the experience of discovering, understanding, and valuing his sexuality. Growing up as a closeted teenager during a time of intense anti-gay sentiment in the UK — with Section 28 in force and virtually no positive queer representation — he found the only images of intimacy between men in gay porn magazines he secretly bought and hid away.
Since returning to his practice, he has focused on reappropriating this deeply personal archive. By transforming material once hidden in shame into art, he revisits memories of concealment and reclaims them as moments of visibility, resilience, and intimacy. His work spans delicate pencil drawings on cigarette papers, collages, paintings, and hand embroidery. Each medium allows him to play with ideas of hiding and revealing, intimacy and exposure, secrecy and pride.
Through this practice, he creates work that is tender and nostalgic yet unapologetically queer — aiming to normalise non-heteronormative identities and speak to generations who, like him, grew up without the positive queer images they needed.
EDUCATION
MA Fine Art, Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design: 2001-2002
BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting), Gray's School of Art: 1997-2001
EXHIBITION HISTORY
UPCOMING
'Voyager 2000: Worldbeing & Wonder?', Firstsite, Colchester: 19 July - 5 October 2025
'Art in the Grey Area', Gray Area Gallery, Norwich: 9 - 17 August 2025
ING Discerning Eye 2025, Mall Galleries, London: 14 - 23 November 2025
2025
Capital Group Taking Pride in Art 2025, Capital Group Offices, London: 11 - 27 June 2025
'Queer Dispositions', Amos Eno Gallery, New York (Artsy online exhibition): 15 April - 15 May
The Auction 2025, Terrence Higgins Trust Annual Fundraiser, Christie's, London: 31 March
'The Practice of Love: Radical Loving as Artistic Social Action', Norman Rea Gallery, York: 19 March - 4 April
'Is that a boy's toy?', Brixton (Tate) Library, London: 4 - 27 February
'I Am Me', Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford: 31 January - 5 May
'For the Love of Art History', Young Masters Finalists Exhibition 2025, The Exhibitionist Hotel, London: 16 January - 8 April
'Beyond the Closet', Anggrek Agency, Zurich: 10 January - 22 March
'Renaissance 25' (Cosimo Art x Art’otel Collaboration), Art'otel Hoxton, London, 10 January - 2 February
2024
'Bad Boys' New Queer Art from Britain & China, British Embassy Beijing: from November
40th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 2 November - 14 December
Queeriosities (Art + Makers Fair), Copeland Gallery, London: 1 - 3 November
Kinaesthesia: Art in Motion, Rise Art, London (online exhibition): 19 June - 4 September
Capital Group Taking Pride in Art 2024, Capital Group Offices, London: 18 - 28 June
'There is never more than a fag paper between them' - Portfolio of Ten Drawings, Rise Art (online): from 22 May
The Auction 2024, Terrence Higgins Trust Annual Fundraiser, Christie's, London: 15 April
'Interrupt', The Undercroft Gallery, Norwich: 8 - 24 February
2023
Queeriosities (Art + Makers Fair Winter Edition), Museum of the Home, London: 1 - 3 December
39th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 11 November - 10 December
RBSA Drawing Prize 2023, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham: 5 September - 14 October
Drawing (Paper) Show, The Bridewell Studios and Gallery, Liverpool: 21 July - 13 August
'Passages', D Contemporary, London: 6 - 24 June
'Noire et Blanche, CICADA (online exhibition): from 1 June
Queeriosities (Art + Makers Fair Spring Edition), Museum of the Home, London: 19 - 21 May
Drawing Open 2023, No Format Gallery, London: 5 - 7 & 10 - 14 May
The Auction 2023, Terrence Higgins Trust Annual Fundraiser, Christie's, London: 6 March
Curtain Twitchers (Uncovered Collective Exhibition), The Garage Gallery, London: 24 - 26 February
Capital Group Taking Pride in Art 2023, Capital Group Offices, London: 20 - 24 February
2022
38th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 13 November - 3 December
StART x MMG Emerging Artist Prize 2022, Saatchi Gallery, London: 12 - 16 October
QUEER ART(ists) NOW 2022, Space Station Sixty-Five, London: 16 September - 8 October
EXH 09, Floorr Magazine, London (online exhibition): 8 September - 8 December
‘Queer Frontiers 2022’, 7-9 Walkers Court, London: 29 June - 10 July
Derwent Art Prize 2022, 35 rue Debelleyme, Paris: 8 - 11 June
Drawing Open 2022, No Format Gallery, London: 6 - 8 & 11 - 15 May
‘Works on Paper 4’, Blue Shop Cottage Art Gallery, London (online exhibition): 9 April - 1 August
Derwent Art Prize 2022, Gallery @ Oxo, London: 24 February - 6 March
‘Figure and Ground’, Bermondsey Project Space, London: 15 February - 5 March
‘Figure and Ground’, Bermondsey Project Space, London: 15 February - 5 March
2021
37th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 17 November - 11 December
ING Discerning Eye 2021, Mall Galleries, London: 12 - 22 November
Summer Exhibition 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, London: 22 September 2021 - 2 January
‘Figurative Art Now’, Mall Galleries, London (online exhibition): 7 July - 20 September
‘Touch Me, Hold Me’, WB Gallery, USA (online exhibition): 1 June - 13 July
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, The Gallery, Arts University, Bournemouth: 17 May - 2 July
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London: 9 - 22 January
2020
36th Annual Open Online, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 25 November - 31 January
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, Cooper Gallery, Dundee: 13 November - 19 December
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, Drawing Projects UK, Trowbridge: 2 - 31 October
2019
35th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 20 November - 8 December
The London Ultra Exhibition, Bargehouse Oxo Tower Wharf, London: 31 October - 10 November
The Nude 2019, Candid Arts Trust, London: 27 September - 6 October
AWARDS | RECOGNITION
Young Masters Rudolph Blume Foundation Acquisition Award 2025: Highly Commended
Incubator Gallery Autumn Open Call 2024: Shortlisted
RBSA Drawing Prize 2023: Shortlisted
Visual Art Open UK & International Emerging Artist Awards 2023 - Illustration & Drawing: Shortlisted
John Moores Painting Prize 2023: Longlisted
The Bridget Riley Fellowship 2023-24: Shortlisted
THE TAGLI 01.23 Collection and Mentorship Award 2023: Shortlisted
StART x MMG Emerging Artist Prize 2022: Shortlisted
Derwent Art Prize 2022: Shortlisted
ING Discerning Eye Exhibition 2021: Awarded the Mervyn Metcalf Purchase Prize
Royal Academy Summer Exhibition 2021: Shortlisted and Selected for Exhibition
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020: Awarded a Special Commendation
John Moores Painting Prize 2020: Longlisted
COLLECTIONS
Government Art Collection (UK)
Neal Baer (US)
Rudolph Blume (US)
Jasper Garvida (UK)
Mervyn Metcalf (UK)
Joseph Rodota (US)
Mario Testino (UK)
Private Collections (UK, USA and China)
PUBLICATIONS | PRESS | FEATURES
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020