Merlin James (born 1960 in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

) is an artist living and working in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

Life and work

James studied at

Central School of Art and Design The Central School of Art and Design was a public school of fine and applied arts in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1896 by the London County Council as the Central School of Arts and Cra ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and the

Royal College of Art The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It of ...

, London. His college thesis, on French artist

Jean Hélion Jean Hélion (April 21, 1904October 27, 1987) was a French painter whose abstract work of the 1930s established him as a leading modernist. His midcareer rejection of abstraction was followed by nearly five decades as a figurative painter. He was ...

, led to Hélion introducing him to London's Albemarle Gallery and subsequently to James' first solo exhibition there in 1990. James moved from London to Glasgow in 2004. Of roughly the same generation as the

Young British Artists The Young British Artists, or YBAs—also referred to as Brit artists and Britart—is a loose group of visual artists who first began to exhibit together in London in 1988. Many of the YBA artists graduated from the BA Fine Art course at Golds ...

, James is perhaps unusual in making work on the model of the traditional easel picture. It frequently takes the form of small-scale paintings on stretched canvas or polyester, sometimes incorporating artist-made frames.Barry Schwabsky and Morgan Falconer et al., Vitamin P2, Phaidon, London, 2011. He also makes drawings and prints. As a critic Merlin James has published widely, including many articles and contributions to books and catalogues. In 2002 he became the first to hold the

Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who h ...

Visiting Chair in Painting at

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

.James, Merlin. "Painting ''per se''" lecture delivered at Cooper Union Great Hall, New York, 28 February 2002. In 2007 James represented Wales at the 52nd

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

.Firth, Hannah and Merlin James. "Merlin James: artists from Wales at the 52nd International Art Exhibition, Venice." Cardiff, Wales. 2007.

Notable solo exhibitions

*2014 ''Merlin James – Paintings, Drawings, Prints'', Aanant & Zoo,

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

Merlin James at Aanant & Zoo, Berlin
/ref> *2014 ''Freestyle'', Kunstverein Freiburg, Freiburg im

Breisgau The Breisgau () is an area in southwest Germany between the Rhine River and the foothills of the Black Forest. Part of the state of Baden-Württemberg, it centers on the city of Freiburg im Breisgau. The district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald ...

, Germany *2013 ''Signal Box'',

KW Institute for Contemporary Art The KW Institute for Contemporary Art (also known as Kunst-Werke) is a contemporary art institution located in Auguststraße 69 in Berlin- Mitte, Germany. Klaus Biesenbach was the founding director of KW; the current director is Krist Gruijthuij ...

, Berlin, Germany (catalogue) *2013 ''Merlin James'', Parasol Unit Foundation for Contemporary Art, London, UK (catalogue) *2012 ''Merlin James: In The Gallery'',

Douglas Hyde Gallery The Douglas Hyde Gallery is a publicly funded contemporary art gallery situated within the historical setting of Trinity College Dublin, Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. When the Gallery opened in 1978, it was for a number of years Ireland's ...

, Trinity College,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, Eire *2007 ''Merlin James'',

, 52nd International Art Exhibition, Wales Pavilion,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

(catalogue) *2005 ''Merlin James'', Sikkema Jenkins & Co.,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, NY, US *2004 ''Merlin James: Easel Painting'',

Talbot Rice Gallery Talbot Rice Gallery is the public art gallery of the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland. With a 19th-century former natural history museum and a contemporary white cube gallery. History The University of Edinburgh's historic Old College wa ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland – 40 works covering a 20-year period. *2001 ''Merlin James'', Andrew Mummery Gallery, London, UK *1996 ''Merlin James'',

Kettle's Yard Kettle's Yard is an art gallery and house in Cambridge, England. The director of the art gallery is Andrew Nairne. Both the house and gallery reopened in February 2018 after an expansion of the facilities. Kettle's Yard galleries, shop and c ...

Gallery,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

*1995 ''Poussin's Phocion'',

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, Cardiff, Wales

Notable group exhibitions

*2013 ''Inevitable Figuration'',

Museo Pecci Museo may refer to: * Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film *Museo (Naples Metro) Museo is a station on line 1 of the Naples Metro. It was opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. On ...

Prato Prato ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city lies in the north east of Tuscany, at the foot of Monte Retaia, elevation , the last peak in the Calvana chain. With more than 200,000 ...

, Italy *2013 ''Picture Show'', Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Scotland *2010 ''Long Long Gone'', Leo Koenig, New York, NY, USA *2009 ''Nus'', Fortes Valeca,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

*2008/9 ''21: Selections of Contemporary Art from the Brooklyn Museum'',

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown ...

, New York, NY, USA *2006 ''Faces of a Collections'',

Kunsthalle Mannheim The Kunsthalle Mannheim is a museum of modern and contemporary art, built in 1907, established in 1909 and located in Mannheim, Germany. Since then it has housed the city's art collections as well as temporary exhibitions – and up to 1927 those ...

, Germany *2004 ''The Edge of Real'',

Whitechapel Art Gallery The Whitechapel Gallery is a public art gallery in Whitechapel on the north side of Whitechapel High Street, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The original building, designed by Charles Harrison Townsend, opened in 1901 as one of the f ...

, London, UK

References

External links

Artforum review of ''Merlin James'' at Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire, by Mara Hoberman

''Painting per se'', Lecture delivered by Merlin James at Cooper Union Great Hall, New York, 28 February 2002

Frieze review of ''Merlin James'' at Sikkema Jenkins & Co, by Ara H. Merjian

Represented by Aanant & Zoo, Berlin

Represented by Kerlin Gallery, Dublin

Represented by Sikkema Jenkins & Co, New York

{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Merlin 1960 births Artists from Glasgow Artists from Cardiff Alumni of the Central School of Art and Design Alumni of the Royal College of Art Living people Welsh contemporary artists