James McQueen
British, b. 1977
James McQueen is a British artist based in the United Kingdom. Working under a pseudonym, he has exhibited publicly as James McQueen since 2017. His practice is rooted in a sustained engagement with the material and graphic culture of vintage books, an interest first cultivated through his grandfather, an avid reader and collector. These early encounters with book design laid the foundation for artistic work that draws heavily on typography, layout and the visual language of mid-twentieth-century publishing.
McQueen’s work is informed by the legacy of Pop art, particularly the strategies developed during the 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Andy Warhol. Following Warhol, McQueen appropriates the design and branding of inexpensive, mass-produced cultural objects. His frequent use of Penguin Classics book covers as subject matter echoes Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup paintings, employing a familiar commodity as a site of both nostalgia and critical reflection. However, McQueen’s practice extends his appropriation through a highly tactile and labour-intensive painting process. His canvases are built up through multiple layers of paint in varying colours and tones. Once they are dry, the surface is sanded back to reveal remnants of the paint beneath. The works are then sealed with lacquer, producing a heightened richness and chromatic intensity to reflect the depth of colour that is found on many older Penguin covers.
Humour has long been central to McQueen’s paintings, often expressed through irony, provocation, and sharp commentary. This was particularly evident in his 2018 series WHO THE FUCK IS BANKSY. McQueen continued to explore irreverent and confrontational humour in works such as REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU FOR YOUR OPINION? ME NEITHER, demonstrating his taste for abrasive comedy and cultural critique.
From 2020 onwards, McQueen’s work has assumed a more overtly social and political stance. In response to the global coronavirus pandemic, he produced LOCKDOWN 2020 and YOU’LL MISS ME WHEN I’M GONE, the latter created to raise funds for the UK’s National Health Service. This period marked a shift in which current events, both global and national, became central to his subject matter. In 2021, McQueen continued this approach with works responding to popular cultural moments, including NO TIME TO DIE, inspired by the release of the James Bond film, and IT’S COMING HOME, commemorating England’s appearance in the UEFA European Championship Final.
During this time, McQueen further developed his engagement with Banksy-inspired imagery by introducing the monkey motif into his work. Initially appearing as a mischievous solitary figure, the monkey later evolved into a pair, a personal gesture for the artist who explains that he wanted his character to ‘have a partner in crime, much like me and my wife’. The body of work produced between 2021 and 2026 represents the most expansive and expressive phase of McQueen’s career to date. These paintings display a heightened use of colour, texture and material experimentation, moving decisively beyond nostalgia towards a more complex and emotionally resonant painterly language.
In 2022, McQueen held his first solo exhibition with Halcyon, YOU DON’T KNOW THE HALF OF IT, which explored typography, Pop art and abstraction through the graphic language of book cover design. Halcyon hosted his second solo exhibition in 2023, IF YOU EVER LEAVE ME I’M COMING WITH YOU, which examined themes of love, obsession and introspection through his signature Penguin cover compositions. In 2026, Halcyon presents A BEAUTIFUL WASTE OF TIME, a new body of McQueen’s work that retains his trademark use of book covers while expanding his visual and conceptual vocabulary through more direct engagement with art history. These works reference several of his key artistic influences, including Keith Haring, Robert Indiana, Takashi Murakami and Yayoi Kusama. By situating his familiar graphic motifs in dialogue with these diverse artists, the exhibition marks a significant development in McQueen’s oeuvre, foregrounding his ongoing exploration of social and cultural commentary with his satirical signature wordplay.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 WE LOVE TO PARTY, Castle Fine Art, Manchester
2023 IF YOU EVER LEAVE ME, I'M COMING WITH YOU, Halcyon, London
2023 IT IS WHAT IT IS, Castle Fine Art, Birmingham – Mailbox
2022 YOU DON'T KNOW THE HALF OF IT, Halcyon, London
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 Art Miami, Castle Fine Art, Miami, Florida2025 Summer Exhibition, Halcyon, London
2024 Art Miami, Castle Fine Art, Miami, Florida
2022 Group Exhibition at Halcyon Gallery, Halcyon, London
2022 High Fidelity, Halcyon, London
