James Rielly

About

Lives and works in Paris, France

James Rielly’s paintings occupy a strange, beguiling territory between innocence and disquiet. Rielly builds subtle images in soft colors, simplified forms, and gently surreal scenarios; yet beneath this tender surface lies an inherently dark undercurrent. The mildly distorted psychology of the rites of passage is central to his practice, as his themes allude to the state of stagnant hesitation during life’s transitions. Within this tension, the artist creates a meditative space in which to question whether adolescence is truly innocent when viewed through the lens of adult behavior. His figures, often children or androgynous characters, are depicted with a sense of theatrical stillness, caught in scenes that suggest both intimacy and alienation. His language is one of ambiguity and contradiction, where humor becomes uncanny, and sweetness masks a deeper emotional complexity. This duality, between the naive and the uncanny, gives his work a quietly haunting power.

Born in Wales in 1956, James Rielly has been living and working between Paris and South West France for the last few years. His career spans major exhibitions across Europe and beyond. His work has been shown at institutions including Tate Gallery Britain, Musée National d’Art Moderne de Paris, Musée des Beaux-arts de Nantes, and the Centre d’Art Nauchatel in Switzerland. He has participated at artist residencies in The Fine Arts Work Center (Provincetown), the Kunstlerhause Bethanien (Berlin), The Momart fellowship by Tate Gallery (Liverpool), and the Auckland Print Studio. His work is included in the collections of the Tate Gallery, the Ashmolean Museum, the Saatchi Collection, and Arts Council of England, among others. Rielly’s art resists easy categorization, standing apart from dominant trends with a singular vision that is both tender and quietly subversive: a poetic and unsettling reflection on identity, coming of age, and the fragile theater of human relationships.

CV

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SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
This is not a love song, Romero Paproki, Paris, France (2025)
T-10, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2025)
Ty Hyll, Gallery Ten, Cardiff, UK (2024)
The sun shines on everyone, Yiri Arts, Taipei, Taiwan (2024)
Visions and revisions, Buysse Gallery, Knokke, Belgium (2024)
Hide and seek, Verduyn Gallery, Moregem, Belgium (2023)
Work, rest and play, Alzueta Gallery – Palau de Casavells, Casavells, Spain (2023)
Work, rest and play, Galería Estéreo, Monterrey, Mexico (2023)
Work, rest and play, CAC Málaga, Málaga, Spain (2022)
James Rielly in Reykjavik, Gangurinn the corridor, Reykjavik, Iceland (2022)
Almost everything in its correct place, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, Germany (2022)
The sun shines on nearly everyone, Galería Herrero de Tejada, Madrid, Spain (2022)
James Rielly, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2021)
Born with a plastic spoon, Knife and fork in my mouth, Monteverita, Paris, France (2019)
Stories for Mexican ghosts and children of all ages, GE Galería, Mexico (2018)
James Rielly, Flowers, Ghosts and Insects, A few short stories, Galería Herrero de Tejada, Madrid, Spain (2017)
Thinking things through, New Art Projects, London, UK (2016)
We lived our lives in the spiritual not the material world, GE Galeria, Mexico (2016)
Knock on wood, Galerie Wittenbrick, Munich, Germany (2016)
Everything is something else, Hillsboro Fine Art, Dublin, Ireland (2015)
Ty Hyll, Cabinet Jean Bonna des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Paris, France (2015)
Image on the edge, Galerie L’Inlassable, Paris, France (2015)
Ty Hyll – the ugly house, The Studio, Llandudno, UK (2014)
James Rielly, Cabinet Jean Bonna des Beaux-Arts de Paris, Paris, France (2014)
Punch Me, La Box, Bourges, France (2014)
Ty Hyll, The Studio, Llandudno, UK (2014)
When I was young I would sit in the bath and ideas would come to me, now I am old I sit in the bath, Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, USA (2013)
James Rielly, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, Germany (2012)
Nothing and something, Galerie Charlotte Moser, Geneva, Switzerland (2012)
What wisdom, Ramis Barquet Gallery, New York, USA (2011)
Spirits in the sky, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, Germany (2010)
James Rielly, I M Art Gallery, Seoul, South Korea (2009)
Things that go bump in the day, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy (cat.) (2008)
New Works on Paper, Rabley Contemporary Drawing Centre, Marlborough, UK (2008)
Proposal for 200 little ideas, Galerie Charlotte Moser, Geneva, Switzerland (2008)
Tell Me a Story, Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, USA (2006)
Full of Possibilities 2, Galeria Ramis Barquet, Monterrey, Mexico (2006)
Nipples, Galeria Distrito Cu4tro, Madrid, Spain (2006)
Life of Rielly, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (cat.) (2005)
Outside Looking Out, Galeria Ramis Barquet, New York, USA (2004)
Made in France, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, France (2004)
Made in East London, Galeria Distrito Cu4tro, Madrid, Spain (2003)
James Rielly, Rex Irwin Fine Art, Sydney, Australia (2003)
Late and Early, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh – Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (2003)
Made in East London, Galeria Distrito Cu4tro, Madrid, Spain (cat.) (2003)
James Rielly, Centro de Arte de Salamanca CASA, Salamanca, Spain (cat.) (2003)
James Rielly, Frac – Fonds Regional d’Art Contemporain Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France (2002)
London Ghosts and Party Animals, Galerie Voges & Partner, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2002)
James Rielly, Studio D’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy (2002)
James Rielly, Archimedes Staffolini Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus (2002)
James Rielly, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (2001)
James Rielly, Edward Mitterand Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (2001)
James Rielly, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York, USA (2001)
Casual Influences, Aberystwyth Arts Center, Aberystwyth, UK (2001)
Casual Influences, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, UK (cat.) (2000)
Casual Influences, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, UK (cat.) (2000)
James Rielly, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York, USA (1999)
James Rielly, Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, France (1998)
James Rielly, Centre d’Art Neuchâtel CAN, Neuchâtel, Switzerland (1998)
James Rielly, Patrick de Brock Gallery, Knokke, Belgium (1998)
James Rielly, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, UK (1998)
Sensible Ways, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, Nantes, France (cat.) (1997)
James Rielly, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, UK (1996)
James Rielly, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, UK (1995)
James Rielly, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, UK (1994)
James Rielly, Berning and Daw Fine Art, London, UK (1993)
James Rielly, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, Germany (1992)
James Rielly, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, Germany (1990)
James Rielly, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany (1989)
James Rielly, Alexander Roussos Gallery, London, UK (1988)
James Rielly, Carlile Gallery, London, UK (1987)
James Rielly, Carlile Gallery, London, UK (1986)
James Rielly, Bayer Gallery, Provincetown, USA (1985)
James Rielly, Hudson D. Walker, Provincetown, USA (1985)
James Rielly, Hudson D. Walker, Provincetown, USA (1984)

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Bestiari, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2026)
In other Worlds, Verduyn Gallery, Moregem, Belgium (2024)
Haf / Summer Exhibition, Gallery Ten, Cardiff, UK (2024)
Sommerfrische, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich, Germany (2024)
15 years of Gallery Ten, Gallery Ten, Cardiff, UK (2024)
Le Toucher du Monde, Musée Municipal Paul-Dini, Villefranche-sur-Saône, France (2023)
Forty years of the corridor, Gangurinn Gallery – National Gallery of Iceland, Iceland (2023)
Les professeurs gribouillent aussi…, Cabinet des dessins et arts graphiques des Beaux Arts de Paris, Paris, France (2023)
Reveries, Verduyn Gallery, Moregem, Belgium (2022)
Floralia, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2022)
Take your conscience to the Pawnshop, Terrace Gallery, London, UK (2019)
By way of Laughter and Trembling, Durden and Ray Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (2019)
Paintings in Paintings, Monteverita, Paris, France (2019)
Quel Amour, Musee d’Art Contemporain, Marseille, France (2018)
Group Exhibition, GE Galería, Mexico City, Mexico (2017)
Group Exhibition, Galería Herrero de Tejada, Madrid, Spain (2017)
Round Colours, Monteverita, Paris, France (2017)
Microsalon 7, Galerie L’Inlassable, Paris, France (2017)
Utopie Pictural 3, Galerie Forma, Geneve, Switzerland (2016)
Group Exhibition, L’Inlassable Galerie, Paris, France (2015)
House of Helfa, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, UK (2015)
Home, The Crossley Gallery, Halifax, England (2014)
Friends and Family, Eva Hober Galerie, Paris, France (2013)
Utopie Picturale, Ville Dutoit, Geneva, Switzerland (2013)
Group Exhibition, Galerie Charlotte Moser, Geneva, Switzerland (2013)
Group Exhibition, Galerie Nosbaum and Reding, Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2013)
The Painter, the Draughtsman, the Dealer and their Lovers, Voges Gallery, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2011)
Group Exhibition, Wittenbrink Gallery, Munich, Germany (2011)
Works on paper, Galerie Charlotte Moser, Geneva, Switzerland (2010)
Fate and Freewill, Cas, New York, USA (2009)
Hope and Despair, Cell Project Space, London, UK (2008)
Philippe Cognee & James Rielly, Galerie Sollertis, Toulouse, France (2008)
El rey de la casa (King of the house), Palau de la Virreina, Barcelona, Spain (2007)
Paper Baglady and Other Stories, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (2007)
World-Gone-Mad: Surrealist in Recent British Art, Herbert Read Gallery, Canterbury – Castlefield Gallery, Manchester – Limehouse Arts Foundation, London, UK (2006)
XS, Galeria Distrito Cu4tro, Madrid, Spain (2005)
Spoilt Rotten, Oriel Davies Gallery, Newtown, UK (2005)
(…) The duck was still alive, Abbaye Saint-Andre – CAC, Meymac, France (2005)
Contre-Images, Carré d’Art, Nimes, France (cat.) (2004)
Summertime in the City, Archimedes Staffolini Gallery, Athens, Greece (2004)
Outlook, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece (cat.) (2003)
Anthropography, Frissiras collection – The Frissiras Museum, Athens, Greece (2003)
Child in Time: views of contemporary artists on youth and adolescence, Gemeentemuseum Helmond, Helmond, The Netherlands (2003)
Childhood, Centro de Arte de Salamanca CASA, Salamanca, Spain (2003)
Telling Stories, Vedanta Gallery, Chicago, USA (2003)
Il Grande Freddo, In Dres, Turin, Italy (2003)
Once Again, John Hansard Gallery, Southampton, UK (cat.) (2003)
Portraits, Edward Mitterand Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland (2002)
Intimacy, Russell-Coates Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, UK (2002)
Disturb, 1st Public School of Hydra, Hydra, Greece (2002)
La tête de l’emploi, Centre Culturel Valery Larbaud, Vichy, France (2002)
Fame and Promise, 14 Wharf Road, London, UK (2002)
Snakes, Snails and Puppy Dog Tails, Nikolai Fine Art, New York, USA (2001)
Love You Always, Damasquine Gallery, Brussels, Belgium (2001)
Strictly Painting II, Voges + Deisen Gallery, Frankfurt am Main, Germany (2001)
The Double, The Lowry Art Centre, Salford, UK (cat.) (2000)
La Spiritualità Nell’ Arte Da Boccioni a Serrano, Santuario di Oropa, Biella, Italy (cat.) (2000)
Group Exhibition, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, UK (2000)
Drawings, Spencer Brownstone Gallery, New York, USA (2000)
Y2K Fine Arts from the UK, Archemedes Staffolini Gallery, Nicosia, Cyprus (2000)
(Corps) Social, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France (cat.) (1999)
Arts Council Collection, Towner Art Gallery and Museum, Eastbourne, UK (1999)
Growing Up Post Modern, University Galleries – Illinois State University, Normal, USA (1999)
Fresh Paint, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, Scotland (1999)
British Portrait 1 – James Rielly, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy (1999)
Sorted, Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, UK (1998)
Tell Me a Story: Narration in Contemporary Painting and Photography, Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France (1998)
Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection, Royal Academy of Arts, London, UK (1997)
Group Exhibition, Hamburger Bahnhof – Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany (1997)
Group Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, New York, USA (cat.) (1997)
Les Péchés Capitaux: La Gourmandise, Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France (1997)
Afternoon in the Park, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, UK (1997)
B.O.N. GO, Bricks and Kicks, Vienna, Austria (1997)
Group Exhibition, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, UK (1997)
Pure Fantasy, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, UK (1997)
Men on Women, Oriel Gallery Theatre, Clwd, UK (1997)
Group Exhibition, Galerie de la Tour, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1996)
Whitechapel Gallery Open, Delfina Studios Trust, London, UK (1996)
John Moores Liverpool Exhibition 19, Liverpool, UK (1995)
Making it: process and participation, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK (1995)
Group Exhibition, Galerie Wittenbrinck, Munich, Germany (1995)
Group Exhibition, Gilmour Gallery, London, UK (1994)
The Fete Worse than Death, Laurent Delaye Gallery, London, UK (1994)
East, Norwich Gallery, Norwich, UK (1993)
Group Exhibition, London Buddhist Centre, London, UK (1992)
Group Exhibition, Britannia Works, London, UK (1991)
Group Exhibition, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany (1989)
Group Exhibition, Carlile Gallery, London, UK (1987)
Group Exhibition, Christopher Hull Gallery, London, UK (1986)
Group Exhibition, Groucho Club, London, UK (1986)
Recent Acquisitions Show, Art Association Gallery and Museum, Provincetown, USA (1986)
Group Exhibition, Bayer Gallery, Provincetown, USA (1985)
New Figurations, Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Provincetown, USA (1985)
Group Exhibition, Hudson D. Walker Gallery, Provincetown, USA (1984)
Group Exhibition, Art Association Gallery and Museum, Provincetown, USA (1984)
New Heritage – Welsh Arts Council, Oriel Gallery, Cardiff, UK (1983)

CATALOGUES AND PUBLICATIONS
Spirits in the sky, Galerie Wittenbrink, Munich Germany (2010)
James Rielly: Things that go bump in the day, Studio d’Arte Raffaelli, Trento, Italy (2008)
Richer, Francesca, Rosenzweig, Matthew, eds. No 1: First Works by 362 Artists (2006)
Painting People, Charlotte Mullins, Thames and Hudson (2006)
James Rielly, Watercolours, essay by Martin Herbert. Timothy Taylor gallery, Galeria Ramis Barquet (2006)
Happy Birthday: 25 Years of Contemporary Art in the Deutsche Bank, James Rielly ’Birdbox, 2003′, colour illustrations, p.189 (2005)
Life of Rielly, essay by Marc Oivier Wahler, Timothy Taylor Gallery, London (2005)
Contre-Images, essays by Régis Durand, Françoise Cohen and Daniel Buren, Carré d’Art, Nimes, France (2004)
James Rielly, essay by Roy Exley, Distrito Cu4tro, Madrid, Spain (2003)
Outlook, curated by Christos Joachimedes, Benaki Museum, Athens, Greece (2003)
James Rielly, interview by Maite Lorés and essay by Dan Fox, Centro de Arte de Salamanca, Spain (2002)
James Rielly, essay by Jean-Charles Vergne, FRAC d’Auvergne, France (2002)
James Rielly, essay by Dan Fox, Timothy Taylor Gallery, UK (2001)
James Rielly, essay by Emma Anderson, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, UK (2000)
The Double, essays by Emma Anderson, Gilda Williams, The Lowry Art Centre, UK (2000)
5,6,7,8,9,0 – CAN, essay by Marc Olivier Wahler, Centre d’Art Neuchatel, France (2000)
La Spiritualità Nell’ Arte Da Boccioni a Serrano, essay by Alberto Fiz (2000)
The Saatchi Gift to the Arts Council Collection, The Arts Council of England, London, UK (2000)
James Rielly, Vergne, Jean-Charles (ed.), La Collection du FRAC d’Auvergne 1900-2000, FRAC d’Auvergne, France (2000)
(Corps) Social, L’Ensba, essay by Éric de Chassey (1999)
Sorted, essay by Dave Freck, Ikon Gallery, UK (1999)
Tell Me A Story, essay by Yves Aupetitallot, Le Magasin Centre National D’Art Contemporain, Grenoble, France (1999)
Cork, Richard, Young British Art: The Saatchi Decade, Booth-Clibborn Editions, London, UK (1999)
A Companion Guide to the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, UK (1999)
Sensation: Young British Artists from The Saatchi Collection (exhibition catalogue), texts by Brooks Adams, Norman Rosenthal, Richard Shone, Martin Maloney and Lisa Jardine, London: Thames and Hudson in association with the Royal Academy of Arts (1997)
Sensible Ways, essays by Stuart Morgan, Arielle Pélanc, La Salle Blanche, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, France (1997)
Jerwood Painting Prize ‘97, text by Judith Bumpus, Jerwood Foundation, UK (1997)
Making It: Process and Participation, Fiona Bradley, Tate Galley Liverpool, UK (1995)

PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, UK
Arts Council of England, UK
Dakis Joannou Collection, Athens, Greece
Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, France
Frissiras Collection, Athens, Greece
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, Nantes, France
Saatchi Collection, London, UK
Sintra Museo de Arte Moderna, Sintra, Portugal
Tate Gallery, London, UK
Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh, UK
La Collection du FRAC d’Auvergne, France
National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK
CASA Salamanca, Spain
The Deutsche Bank Collection, Germany
Wurth Collection, Spain
National Gallery of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland