James Byrne

James Byrne is inspired predominantly by landscape. He makes drawings on location over a number of days, then pins the drawings to the wall in his studio and uses them as a stimulus for painting. The paintings develop over a period of time, making use of the process of painting itself combined with imagination and intuition. Byrne sees this ‘process’ as essential to the development of the paintings, as they take on a life of their own. His paintings are manifestations of an internalised experience, where the romantic imagination has been at work.

James Byrne Biography

James Byrne is a Birmingham painter who has had a studio practice in the city since completing an M.A. in painting at Birmingham College of Art in 1982. His work has been included in a number of important shows in the UK and Hong Kong, and his paintings are included in the Warwick Arts Trust permanent collection as well as Birmingham Museum and the IBM Collection.

Byrne often works with impasto paint worked 'wet in wet', where constant changes can be made before the final image locks in.  Techniques such as glazing, scumbling and scarping create space for intuitive changes before the paintings are finished.

Selected One-Person Exhibitions

2018 James Byrne: Between the Islands
Reuben Colley Fine Art

2012 James Byrne: Painting and Process
University of Birmingham

2011 James Byrne: Paintings and Drawings
Reuben Colley Fine Art

1999 James Byrne: Field Series
Midland Arts Centre, Birmingham

1986 James Byrne: Paintings
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

Selected Mixed Exhibitions

2015-2016 Hinterland
Telson Building, Birmingham and Rugby Art Gallery and Museum

2014 John Moores Painting Prize Exhibition
Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool

2008-2009 The Art of Birmingham
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

2003-2004 Jerwood Drawing Prize Exhibition and Touring Exhibition
Jerwood Space, London and touring venues

1996 William Gear: Past and Present Friends
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

1994 The Laing Landscape Show
The Mall Galleries, London

1990 Mid-Art
Dudley Museum and Art Gallery

1989 Artists in Public
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery

1987 Artists in Public
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

1984 Twenty-one for Twenty-one:  Ikon Gallery 21st Birthday Exhibition
Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

1984 English Expressionism
Warwick Arts Trust, London