Merlin James: Singer

Chris Sharp Los Angeles · Mid-City

Exhibition on view: Nov 21, 2026 - Jan 9, 2027

Chris Sharp Gallery presents "Singer," its second solo show with Glasgow-based painter Merlin James, featuring paintings made in the last 12 months. The title work continues his interest in figures performing, with painting itself as an act. Piers, the sea, coastlines, trees by water, the sun and the moon appear, rendered with stark marks and ash, sawdust and hair; moods range from desolate to serene.

Merlin James

Merlin James (b. 1960, Cardiff) is a Welsh artist living and working in Glasgow. He studied at the Central School of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London. His college thesis on Jean Hélion led the French artist to introduce him to London's Albemarle Gallery, where he had his first solo exhibition in 1990. Of roughly the same generation as the Young British Artists, James is unusual in working on the model of the traditional easel picture, often in small paintings on stretched canvas or polyester with artist-made frames. He is also a widely published critic.