A Beautiful Waste of Time, the latest solo Exhibition from anonymous artist James McQueen, opened to the public at Halcyon in Mayfair on 2nd March, featuring a new body of work that uses vintage book covers as a starting point for bold, satirical paintings.
The Exhibition brings together a focused selection of McQueen’s new and recent works. Working primarily with the visual language of vintage book covers, he reimagines forms designed for immediacy and consumption through a materially and conceptually layered painting process. Across the Exhibition, McQueen’s signature titles are present alongside new phrases, featuring satirical and confrontational humour drawn from personal experience and popular culture.
Photo James McQueen Installation Shot Courtesy Halcyon Gallery London
The works also reveal McQueen’s increasingly direct engagement with art history. References to Keith Haring, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Banksy, Damien Hirst, Jackson Pollock, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana and Takashi Murakami are absorbed into the graphic book cover format through McQueen’s recognisable titles and gestural process.
The result is a body of work that resonates both universally and personally, humorously incorporating themes of love, hope, vulnerability and defiance, in the artist’s ongoing exploration of authenticity.
In creating his art, McQueen applies paint in abundance through numerous layers that, once dried, are sanded down, creating a coarse aesthetic that evokes the wear and tear of vintage books. Often, the surfaces are covered with lacquer to add extra richness and vibrancy.
Exploring themes of Pop Art and abstraction, McQueen’s complex application of paint elevates his art beyond mere imitation of a nostalgic object to a rich, expressive art. He represents the books not as they were when first published, but as they are today: stained and faded with annotations and tattered edges.
James McQueen Installation Shot, Courtesy Halcyon Gallery London
McQueen’s unique techniques reflect ageing and decay as the books are passed down from one owner to another, including fingerprint marks, tea-mug rings, missing corners, dishevelled spines, and readers’ scribblings.
McQueen remains an enigma in the art world, painting under a pseudonym since 2017. He explains: “Keeping behind the mask enables me to enjoy the creative process without being concerned about praise or recognition. I enjoy what I do and don’t want that to change or to be changed through judgment. I want my art to speak for itself.”
Born in 1977, James McQueen is a British artist based in the United Kingdom. Operating under the pseudonym James McQueen, he has publicly exhibited paintings since 2017. His literary-inspired paintings are rooted in the Pop Art of the mid-1950s and 60s. McQueen appropriates the design and branding of an inexpensive, mass-produced, and consumed product, echoing Andy Warhol’s appropriation in the Campbell’s soup paintings. Like Warhol, McQueen celebrates the everyday product by making these book covers monumental and vibrant.
About Halcyon
The impact of these works extends beyond the visual to the conceptual. McQueen communicates a variety of messages through the titles of his paintings and their carefully selected typography. Frequently, their tone is provocative, comic and cynical. While humour is a key feature of his work, McQueen has also used his paintings for social and political comment, responding to what is current and popular on the national and international scene, from climate change and the NHS to football and James Bond.
Established in 1982, Halcyon specialises in modern and contemporary art, spanning Impressionism to Pop Art. It operates three London galleries on New Bond Street and in Harrods, Knightsbridge. In 2023, Halcyon moved into one of London’s oldest and most historic gallery spaces at 148 New Bond Street. In August 2025, Halcyon opened its first gallery in the United States, a new exhibition space in New York City.
The gallery showcases art from modern masters, critically acclaimed living artists and promising new talent. It is committed to developing the careers of a diverse range of artists with exceptional skills, capturing the imagination of collectors, international museums and institutions, and the public. Halcyon employs a full-service creative team that offers expert professional support for artistic innovation.The company is devoted to building distinguished art collections for its clients and has a long track record of placing works of the highest quality in museums and in prominent public spaces around the world.
Top Photo James McQueen Installation Shot Courtesy Halcyon Gallery London
James McQueen’s ‘A Beautiful Waste of Time’ opens 2nd March 2026 at Halcyon, 148 New Bond Street, London W1S 2RL. The Exhibition is free to enter and open daily.