Artist Alexander James' New Show Is An Ode to the Familiar

Alexander James may consider himself a painter, but the art industry he's encased within thinks of him to be so much more. James' multimedia practice has meant fans and critics alike consider him to be part historian, part story-teller and part artist, a title supported by the breadth of his work which primarily hones in on familial stories of the past and present.

Material references such as family letters, photographs, found memorabilia and ancient artefacts often underpin James' practice in its entirety, with the artist's latest solo exhibition, Tuck Shop For The Wicked at Marlborough art gallery in London being no exception. Honing in on his own personal connections, the title of the exhibition acts as an ode to James' great grandfather and his infamous East London-based 'Tuck Shop'; a cultural institution for all who knew it. A vivid, saccharine palette permeating James' canvases recalls the candies that were sold at the Kaminsky-owned store, just as James' inherited memories of him are echoed through warm hues and brushstrokes coming together to shape abstract forms in the painter's signature style.

Thick painterly strokes make up many of the artworks involved in the exhibition, but this young, rising London star is no Frank Auerbach. James' work is much more colourful in its expression, even if his mark-making is reminiscent of the late great figurative painter. However, James' artistic references tend to stretch back further than just last century, with the artist's 'push and pull of addition and subtraction' creating an enthralling paradox aligning with the ancient practice of Damnatio Memoriae, the ‘condemnation of memory’ which was enacted across ancient civilisations of Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia. And, as implied by its title, was an exercise that engaged in a ritualistic destruction of images, whereby an unpopular Emperor who was violently removed from power might be literally carved out from coins, statues were pulled down, names on inscriptions hacked away.

Heavy layering and removing are techniques James has slowly adopted as his style has developed since he graduated from Camberwell College of Arts in 2015, helping his artwork take on a transcendent quality of sorts. Imagine looking in at a gallery from the outside, but the windows have steamed up because it's raining, and you can only make out glimpses here and there; this is what it's like to be up close with James' work. What makes it special is the undoubtedly human element that remains at the core of everything he does, a feeling you can't see from the outside - but only feel from within.