Richard James
King of the Untitled Abstract
Richard James 1973 Courtesy of the Serpentine Gallery.
Richard James (Born 1937) Painter in acrylic on canvas and board and gouache on paper, born in Thorne, Yorkshire. Studied at Doncaster School of Art, 1957-1959, St Martin's School of Art, 1959-1960; Slade School of Fine Art, 1960-1964, where Keith Vaughan was his tutor; then gained Prix de Rome in painting, 1964-1965. James lived and worked in London for 23 years, teaching part-time in various Art Schools. Moved to Norfolk in 1982, settled in Norwich, and was Head of Painting at the school of art there, 1983-1991, leaving to concentrate more fully on painting. He said that his work "was about colour, movement, rhythm, contrast- the interaction between the energies of the natural world and the man-made world, between the random and the controlled. Painting makes vivid the meltdown between one moment and the next". Richard was also a member of of the Stockwell Depot a collective of St Martin's students who persuaded Lambeth Council to give them a rundown brewery building in Stockell at a low rent from 1967 to 1979, taking the initiative to hold exhibitions which dramatically raised their profile as a group and as individuals.
The Brentford Gallery has a selection of Richard's work spanning 4 decades 1969-2009
Solo shows:
1971 School of Art Gallery, Norwich
1972 Robert Browning DLI Museum & Arts Centre, Durham.
1972 Stockwell Depot London.
1975 Imperial College, Consort Gallery.
1976 Acme Gallery.
Group Shows:
1973 Serpentine Gallery.
1974 John Moores Liverpool Exhibition.
1974 British Painting at the Hayward Gallery.
1977 British Painting 1952-1977 at Royal Accademy
1977 Hayward Annual.
Between 1984-1993 James was member of faculty for the award of Rome and Abbey Major Scholarships.
Albright Knox Museum in America and Eastern Arts hold examples.
