PROFILE
(b. 1979 Elgin, Scotland)
After graduating in 2002, James worked in a central London commercial art gallery for 3 years. Following this he moved into the public sector where over the past 14 years he has worked for the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Arts Council England and the UK Government Art Collection.
In January 2019, after a 17-year break, he went back into the studio to continue his art practice in London. Since then, he has been shortlisted for the Bridget Riley Fellowship (2023-24) and Derwent Art Prize (2022), been selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2021), won the Mervyn Metcalf Purchase Prize at the ING Discerning Eye Exhibition (2021) and was awarded a special commendation at the Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize (2020). His work is held in the UK Government Art Collection and private collections in the UK, USA and China.
James's work reflects on the experience of discovering his sexuality and his journey to understanding, accepting and valuing it. Since returning to his practice, his focus has been on a new body of work with two key threads - personal experience as subject matter and the referencing and reappropriation of a personal archive of gay porn secretly collected during his teenage years when he felt pressured into hiding his true sexuality. James recalls: “At that time, these magazines were the only place I could see representations of intimacy between men. This was the pre-internet age when anti-gay sentiment in the UK was at its peak following the HIV/AIDS pandemic and introduction of the notoriously homophobic legislation - Section 28 of the Local Government Act. There was virtually no queer representation or visibility, and if you did happen to find some, it was certainly not positive”.
From drawings on cigarette papers, to paintings and collages embellished with embroidery - James approaches his use of media in a playful way with complete openness, whilst consistently maintaining a quality and cohesion, making it deeply personal. The intimate subject matter, combined with repurposed personal archival material, allows James to present work which has a touching and nostalgic narrative, normalises non-heteronormative identities and, importantly, starts to fill the void of positive representation and visibility that he, and so many other members of the queer community, did not experience during their formative years.
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
EXHIBITIONS
UPCOMING
Exclusive Launch of 10 New Drawings: 22 May 2024
2024
The Auction 2024, Terrence Higgins Trust Annual Fundraiser, Christie's Auction House, London: 15 April 2024
'Interrupt', The Undercroft Gallery, Norwich: 8-24 February 2024
2023
Queeriosities Art + Makers Fair (Winter Edition), Museum of the Home, London: 1-3 December 2023
39th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 11 November-10 December 2023
RBSA Drawing Prize 2023, RBSA Gallery, Birmingham: 5 September-14 October 2023
Drawing (Paper) Show, The Bridewell Studios and Gallery, Liverpool: 21 July-13 August 2023
'Passages', D Contemporary, London: 6-24 June 2023
'Noire et Blanche, CICADA (online exhibition): from 1 June 2023
Queeriosities Art + Makers Fair, Museum of the Home, London: 19-21 May 2023
Drawing Open 2023, No Format Gallery, London: 5 - 7 & 10 - 14 May 2023
The Auction 2023, Terrence Higgins Trust Annual Fundraiser, Christie's Auction House, London: 6 March 2023 2022
38th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 13 November - 3 December 2022
StART x MMG Emerging Artist Prize 2022, Saatchi Gallery, London: 12 - 16 October 2022
QUEER ART(ists) NOW 2022, Space Station Sixty-Five, London: 16 September - 8 October 2022
EXH 09, Floorr Magazine, London (online exhibition): 8 September - 8 December 2022
‘Queer Frontiers 2022’, 7-9 Walkers Court, London: 29 June - 10 July 2022 Derwent Art Prize 2022, 35 rue Debelleyme, Paris: 8 June - 11 June 2022
Drawing Open 2022, No Format Gallery, London: 6 - 8 & 11 - 15 May 2022
‘Works on Paper 4’, Blue Shop Cottage Art Gallery, London (online exhibition): 9 April - 1 August 2022
Derwent Art Prize 2022, Gallery @ Oxo, London: 24 February - 6 March 2022
‘Figure and Ground’, Bermondsey Project Space, London: 15 February - 5 March 2022
‘Figure and Ground’, Bermondsey Project Space, London: 15 February - 5 March 2022
2021
37th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 17 November - 11 December 2021
ING Discerning Eye Exhibition 2021, Mall Galleries, London: 12 November - 22 November 2021
Summer Exhibition 2021, Royal Academy of Arts, London: 22 September 2021 - 2 January 2022
‘Figurative Art Now’, Mall Galleries, London (online exhibition): 7 July - 20 September 2021
‘Touch Me, Hold Me’, WB Gallery, USA (online exhibition): 1 June - 13 July 2021
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, The Gallery, Arts University, Bournemouth: 17 May - 2 July 2021
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London: 9 January - 22 January 2021
2020
36th Annual Open Online, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 25 November 2020 - 31 January 2021
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, Cooper Gallery, Dundee: 13 November - 19 December 2020
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020, Drawing Projects UK, Trowbridge: 2 October - 31 October 2020
2019
35th Annual Open, Southwark Park Galleries, London: 20 November - 8 December 2019
The London Ultra Exhibition, Bargehouse Oxo Tower Wharf, London: 31 October - 10 November 2019
The Nude 2019, Candid Arts Trust, London: 27 September - 6 October 2019
AWARDS / RECOGNITION
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)
Jasper Garvida (UK)
Mervyn Metcalf (UK)
Joseph Rodota (US)
Mario Testino (UK)
Private Collections (UK, USA and China)
PUBLICATIONS / FEATURES
Derwent Art Prize 2022, Exhibition Catalogue: February 2022
Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize 2020 Exhibition Catalogue: October 2020