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James Morton

James Morton's work is imbued with the exciting and reactive immediacy of capturing a person at a specific moment in time. Characterful faces form the main terrain in which colours are manoeuvred across the canvas. Each face expresses the panoply of emotions available to humankind. Often starting with a photo, the final image leaves the photo to become something else entirely, as Morton uses gestural marks to push and pull individual features into an even deeper truth.

Education

UWE (2006)

Selected exhibitions

2025
The Other Art Fair, New York
Bristol Improv Theatre, Bristol
Cass Art Gallery , Bristol
2024
Cass Art Gallery , Bristol
Spring Gallery , Cheltenham
The Mall , Bristol
The Oculus , New York
North Street Gallery, Bristol
2023
Openwalls S4, Cass Art Gallery, Bristol
Small Works Show, Spring Gallery, Cheltenham
Start Art Fair, Saatchi Gallery, London
Clio Art Fair, New York
North Street Gallery, Bristol
Forward Looking, Cass Art Gallery, Bristol
2022
Rip it up, Start Again, Bath
The Small Works Show, Spring Gallery, Cheltenham
Howl, Hours Space Gallery, Bristol
'One Hundred Times, The Crypt, Bristol
2021
Affordable Art Fair, Online
2020
Bristol Fine Arts, Bristol
2019
Affordable Art Fair, London
Untitled Underground, 508 Kings Road Gallery, London
Street Figures, 508 Kings Road Gallery, London
Affordable Art Fair, London
2018
Resident Artists Group Show, 508 kings road gallery, London
Roys People Art Fair, London
Parallax Art Fair, London
2017
Complete Abstraction, 508 Kings Road gallery, London
BV Studios Open Day, Bristol
New Portraits, Hackney Rd, London
2016
BV Studios Open Day, Bristol
2015
BV Studios Open Day, Bristol
Bathed in Grey, Centre Space Gallery, Bristol
2013
Its All 2 Much Gallery, Bristol
2012
Its All 2 Much Gallery, Bristol
Southville Arts Trail, Bristol
2006
Degree Final Show, UWE, Bristol
2004
Ilkley Fine Arts, Ilkley

Artist statement

My work evolves from an interest in people, and a basic need to capture an expression at a given moment. I use old photographs of people in everyday life, and the people I see around me. Aiming to depict a vulnerability, or melancholy, these paintings often take on an ethereal quality. Although each painting starts from an image, the relationship between the marks takes over from the original photo, which is then rarely referenced again during the painting process.

Original works · Sold

Original works

Sold 22