James Owens (b. 1995, Middlesbrough) is a painter based in south-east London. His work gathers past, present and imagined scenes to form new narratives, which operate in moments of liminality. In these works, plants creep, dance and communicate in hushed tones. They grow in unlikely settings, pushing up through cracks and stretching towards the sun. This world captures nature in its full capacity - toying in flux between splendid growth and brutal death. As a small flower tenderly blossoms, another wilts. A curling tendril soon becomes a parasite. The paintings tread gently upon this balance between strength and weakness, hope and doom. Figures may come together with closeness, but there is a sense that they are protecting each other from something. Similarly, wildflowers appear in glorious full bloom - or perhaps they are fighting against one another for survival.
Selected Exhibitions
2024
Art Brussels, Newchild Gallery, Brussels
Out of Earth, The Approach Gallery, London
Disembodied, Nicodim Gallery, L.A
2023
Once, Then, Gone, Newchild Gallery, Antwerp
felt cute, might delete later (curated by James Owens), Arusha Gallery, London
Hawthorn and the Feast of Julian, Arusha Gallery, New York City
A New Sensation, Galerie Marguo, Paris
The Moth and the Thunderclap, Stuart Shave Modern Art, London
2022
I Take What is Mine, Arusha Gallery, New York City
Dreaming of UFOs, Lychee One Gallery, London (Solo show)
Praxis, Arusha Gallery, London
2021
Unfair Weather, Lychee One Gallery, London
PPP on Paper, Painters Painting Paintings, online exhibition
Quiet Fire, Arusha Gallery, London (Solo show)
Bloodroot, Arusha Gallery, Edinburgh (Duo show) with Mary Herbert
What I See I Will Never Tell, Wilder Gallery, London
2020
Delphian Open Call 2020, Delphian Gallery, online exhibition
Tender Kith, 155a Gallery, London
When Shit Hits the Fan, Guts Gallery, online exhibition
Education
2016 - 2018 BA Illustration, Camberwell College of Arts (UAL)
2015 - 2016 BA Illustration and Visual Media, London College of Communication (UAL)
2014 - 2015 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, London College of Communication (UAL)