The World Of Dermot O’Brien – Not Only But Also – James Payne
Dermot O’Brien (Not Only) But Also is one of the strongest shows I’ve seen in London for quite some time.
7 October 2025
Search Results for: james payne
Great Art Explained Demystifying the Masterpiece – James Payne
Great Art Explained is a new book by James Payne, the creator of the hugely popular YouTube channel of the same name, in which he explores 30 masterpieces from across art history.
22 September 2025
Britt Boutros-Ghali A Life in Colour and Gesture – James Payne
Although Britt Boutros-Ghali is a seminal figure in postwar abstraction and has always been shown internationally, she is fairly unknown in the UK.
12 September 2025
The Myth of Leigh Bowery Laid Bare in New Tate Show – James Payne
Leigh Bowery was a groundbreaking performance artist, club entrepreneur, fashion designer, musician…. a thief, a shitkicker and…uh…he wanted to be famous.
27 February 2025
Xenia Artistic Retreat Imaginary Lines Daniel Katz – James Payne
What defines a drawing? Is it the line, the mark, the tone? What does “drawing” actually mean?
It is a question explored by the exhibition Imaginary Lines, opening 14th November, through a unique interplay of historical and contemporary works.
12 November 2024
Mike Kelley A Blue Collar Minimalist Tate Modern – James Payne
Mike Kelley: Ghost and Spirit, currently on display at Tate Modern until March, 2025, offers a very extensive exploration of the American artist’s multifaceted career
12 November 2024
Mark James A Syncopated Collection Of New Works – James Payne
Mark James is a British filmmaker known for his 1993 documentary FREEZE, the first TV documentary made about that iconic show, as well as his film on Carle Andre, “Upholding the Bricks”, and other films about artists, architects and musicians.
17 June 2024
Venice Biennale 2024 – From Inside A Women’s Prison – Pavilion Of The Holy See – James Payne
The most coveted ticket at this year’s Venice Biennale was entry to the Giudecca women’s prison on an island in the lagoon, which dates back to the 13th century and was once a reformatory for prostitutes and unwed mothers.
1 May 2024
Wallace Chan in Venice Interview – James Payne
I sat down with Wallace Chan to ask him about his latest exhibition. Like his works, his answers are sometimes curious and enigmatic but always reflect Chan’s insatiable curiosity and generosity of spirit.
29 April 2024
Foreigners Merge Giardini 60th Venice Biennale – James Payne
The Central Pavilion at the Venice Biennale’s 60th edition is led by curator Adriano Pedrosa, who uses the theme “Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere,”
22 April 2024
MIART Milan’s Art Fair A Mirror To The Art World – James Payne
In the hugely competitive world of art fairs, timing, as we know, is everything, but the location is equally important…. Read More
22 April 2024
James Gillray Maximilist and Rebecca Salter Minimalist Gainsborough’s House – James Payne
Two very different exhibitions are currently on at Gainsborough’s House, Sudbury, Suffolk. Caricaturist James Gillray (1756–1815) and British abstract artist and President of the Royal Academy of Arts Rebecca Salter.
20 November 2023
Contemporary Istanbul 18th Edition 2023 – James Payne
Istanbul is a great city for an art weekend, and what better time than during their art fair.
3 October 2023
Nicole Wassall Unicorns Are Real – James Payne
Nicole Wassall’s latest exhibition, Unicorns are Real, asks us to reconcile logic and imagination.
18 September 2023
Giorgio Morandi: A Quiet Moment Estorick Collection – James Payne
To mark the 25th anniversary of the Estorick Collection, the gallery is presenting a major exhibition of works by Giorgio Morandi, considered by many to be an “artist’s artist,” whose quiet canvases have developed a cult following.
16 January 2023
Gainsborough’s House – Suffolk Gets A World-Class Museum – James Payne
After a lengthy refurbishment, thanks to £10 million from The Lottery Fund, one of my favourite museums in the UK, has re-opened, and they have done a magnificent job. It is the most significant development in the history of Gainsborough’s House since it became a museum in 1961.
5 December 2022
Colour And Art History On A Paris Road Trip – James Payne
Paris is always good for an Artlyst road trip, as James Payne discovers as he visits Fondation Louis Vuitton, Cluny Museum and goes on a Picasso walking tour.
6 June 2022
Henry Moore Sharing Form At Hauser & Wirth Somerset – James Payne
In the autumn of 1921, Henry Moore, a student from the Royal College of Art, visited Stonehenge. It would have a profound effect on him.
4 June 2022
Wallace Chan Living In A Material World 59th Venice Biennale – James Payne
The last time we saw Wallace Chan’s work was in the Docklands in London when he showed ten of his large-scale titanium and iron sculptures in an exhibition titled “A Dialogue Between Materials and Time, Titans XIV”.
8 May 2022
Love Is In The (Open) Air Robert Indiana Sculpture YSP – James Payne
Even if you don’t know Robert Indiana’s name, you know his most popular work, LOVE. Cited as the most known artwork in the world, it is, in fact so famous that many people may not even realise it’s an artwork at all.
10 March 2022
Leigh Bowery Still Entertaining And Relevant – James Payne
The performance artist Leigh Bowery died of AIDS-related illness on New Year’s Eve 1994 at only 33 years old. He didn’t tell anyone he was sick – except his best friend, Sue Tilley. When she asked him what she should tell people when he died, he said: “Tell them I’ve gone to Papua New Guinea”.
13 January 2022
The Last Temptation of Christo – L’Arc de Triomphe: Wrapped – James Payne
James Payne has been to Paris to see Christo’s wrapping of L’Arc de Triomphe.
Napoléon’s monument to himself has been turned into a memento mori for our times, and Le petit caporal would not have approved.
1 October 2021
The Lost Leonardo Film Review by James Payne
James Payne reviews the new film “The Lost Leonardo” directed by Andreas Koefed and encounters a thrilling journey through the murky world of art.
4 September 2021
Mark Woods An Uncanny And Taboo World – James Payne
James Payne explores the curious world of Mark Woods in his exhibition Absorption at Cross Lane Projects, Kendal.
27 August 2021
Yorkshire Sculpture Park Where Time Slows Down – James Payne
Yorkshire Sculpture Park is open again for business, and it is so good to revisit it. The great news is many of its temporary shows have been extended, like Joana Vasconcelos’ Beyond (till January 2022).
5 August 2021
Ryoji Ikeda And Matthew Barney The End Of Silence – James Payne
James Payne embraces the end of silence after months of lockdown in two new exhibitions: Ryoji Ikeda at 180 The Strand and Matthew Barney at the Hayward Gallery.
20 May 2021
Artist Anka Dabrowska Discusses New Margate Project With James Payne
Anka Dabrowska, a Warsaw born queer woman artist living and working in London, spoke to Artlyst on the eve of an exciting new project in the seaside town of Margate.
13 April 2021
Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights – Explained by James Payne
As part of his video series, Great Artworks Explained, James Payne tackles The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch.
6 April 2021
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye Lets The Paint Tell The Story – James Payne
Fly In League With The Night, at Tate Britain covers Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s work from her graduation in 2003 to the present day, with some paintings made during lockdown.
16 December 2020
Anish Kapoor Bringing Heaven To Earth – Houghton Hall – James Payne
“Anish Kapoor is a magician,” says Lord Cholmondeley in his introduction to this exhibition. His ancestral seat, Houghton Hall is presenting the largest ever exhibition of outdoor sculptures by Kapoor, including stone pieces he has been making for 25 years but never shown in the UK. Quite a coup for Cholmondeley who it seems has pulled off some magic of his own.
16 July 2020
Great Artworks Explained A New Video Series By James Payne
This is a new series by Artist/historian James Payne demystifying great works of art. We will be adding to this page as the content is produced.
1 June 2020
Margate – Art In Ex Toilets And Family Homes – James Payne
With smaller Galleries being squeezed out of the market more and more, it makes sense to look towards ad hoc spaces. Inventive curators are turning away from the traditional White Cube and exploring the DIY and the domestic aesthetic. Two spaces in the tiny coastal town of Margate are opening up a wider dialogue with international artists and also raising questions as to where their work should be seen.
7 February 2020