James Byrne - Between the Islands

JAMES BYRNE
B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S
27 th February – 24 th March 2018

Landscapes have been inspiring artists for centuries, but few have tackled land, sea and sky with such visceral
intensity as Birmingham-based painter James Byrne. In his new collection, Byrne transports us to the mountains
of Wicklow and the rugged coastline and islands of Pembrokeshire. Standing in front of one of these passionately
expressive paintings, one can almost feel the wild weather and hear the thud of water against rock.
Byrne immerses himself in the landscape for days on end, making drawings on location. Back in the studio, his
paintings develop over time, fed by imagination, memory, intuition and the very process of painting. These
pictures express not so much what a particular place looks like, but how it feels to be there. In the artist’s words,
they are ‘equivalents of experience rather than description’. Like Turner’s late works, Byrne’s paintings bring us
face to face with the ‘sublime’ – the overwhelming and sometimes frightening power of nature. Byrne explains:
‘Sometimes the paintings lean more towards the abstract, and at other times are more figural, but I always want
them to be evocative and to express a sense of awe. It’s important, too, that the gestures are a trace of body and
landscape combining’.
James Byrne has had a studio practice in Birmingham since completing an MA in painting at Birmingham College
of Art in 1982. His work has been shown in numerous important exhibitions in the UK and Hong Kong, including a
solo show at the Ikon, Birmingham, in 1986. Examples of his work are held in the collections of Birmingham
Museums Trust, Warwick Arts Trust and IBM.

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S I
Oil on Canvas
152 x 121 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S I I
Oil on Canvas
152 x 121 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S III
Oil on Canvas
152 x 121 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S IV
Oil on Canvas
152 x 121 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S V
Oil on Canvas
182 x 137 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S VI
Oil on Canvas
182 x 137 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S V I I
Oil on Canvas
182 x 137 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S V I I I
Oil on Canvas
121 x 91 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S IX
Oil on Canvas
101 x 76 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S X
Oil on Canvas
50 x 40 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S XI
Oil on Canvas
60 x 50 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S X I I
Oil on Canvas
40 x 33 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S X I I I
Oil on Canvas
33 x 33 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S X I V
Oil on Canvas
30 x 30 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S XV
Oil on Canvas
45 x 30 cm

B E T W E E N T H E I S L A N D S XVI
Oil on Canvas
40 x 30 cm

W I C K L O W R O C K S , S E R I E S I I
V
Oil on Canvas
20 x 25 cm

W I C K L O W R O C K S , S E R I E S I I
VI
Oil on Canvas
20 x 25 cm

W I C K L O W R O C K S , S E R I E S I I
IX
Oil on Canvas
20 x 25 cm

E V E N I N G L I G H T I I
Oil on Board
20 x 25 cm

M O U N TA I N L I G H T I
Oil on Board
20 x 25 cm

M O U N TA I N L I G H T V
Oil on Board
20 x 25 cm

M O U N TA I N L I G H T V I
Oil on Board
20 x 25 cm

P E M B R O K E S H I R E I
Chalk Pastel on Tone Paper
29 x 21 cm

P E M B R O K E S H I R E I I I
Chalk Pastel on Tone Paper
29 x 21 cm

P E M B R O K E S H I R E V
Chalk Pastel on Tone Paper
29 x 21 cm

Reuben Colley Fine Art
85 - 89 Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2BB
Open Tuesday to Friday - 10 am to 6 pm
Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm
Sundays and Mondays – by appointment
only
Tel : 0121 236 0920
www.reubencolleyfineart.co.uk
www.colmoreeditions.com
Email : enquiries@reubencolleyfineart.co.uk