About

James Joslin is a figurative artist and printmaker based in Hastings, UK. Working primarily across oil painting and etching, he creates intimate depictions of the human figure's presence and vulnerability whilst revealing fragments of the artwork's construction through exposed layers and visible line.

He studied Music, Technology and Innovation at De Montfort University, Leicester, and has since frequently worked with performers such as Margaret Leng Tan, a leading exponent of composer and visual artist John Cage. James' collage score, Paganini Cut-Up, was recorded by violinist Fenella Humphreys on her 2023 album Caprices, winning the BBC Music Magazine premiere award.

His work and compositions have been presented at the Kensington + Chelsea Art Week, Towner Gallery Eastbourne, The Phillips Collection Washington D.C. (Cadaquésan Landscape), and the Singapore, Melbourne, Brunswick and Tasmanian International Festivals of Art (Hatta).

In 2026, he featured in season 13 of Sky Arts' Portrait Artist of the Year.

Image © Toria Eve

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year season 13

Sky Arts has announced that the new season of Portrait Artist of the Year will air from 7 October and I’m pleased to finally be able to share that I am one of the artists taking part! Filming took place in April 2026 at Battersea Arts Centre, with three new judges taking the reins for season 13: Jonathan Yeo (portrait artist), Katy Hessel (art historian) and Eva Langret (Director of EMEA, Frieze). Participants were given 4 hours to paint to a celebrity sitter, with one artist

Studying Lucian Freud at Hastings Contemporary

During the final weekend of Hastings Contemporary's Moore/Freud exhibition, I visited with my etching needles and a plate in order to study Lucian Freud's Kai, an etching made between 1991-92 of the artist's stepson. On a smaller scale than Freud's original, I was able to explore how he made his marks and how he explores subtle shifts of planes and interest across the subject's face. I worked for about an hour (compared to Freud's months!) which meant my lines were more frant

Portrait of Benjamin Britten exhibiting as part of Summer Contemporary

My portrait of composer Benjamin Britten is part of Britten Pears Arts' Summer Contemporary exhibition in Snape Maltings and is available to purchase, framed. Curated by Devi Singh, Summer Contemporary is a five-week visual art exhibition that celebrates artworks in a variety of mediums and disciplines. Between 25 July and 30 August 2026, Snape Maltings will welcome visitors to enjoy visual art alongside music and the unrivalled natural landscape. My work is featured in the e

News

Group Exhibitions, Events and Residencies

2026

Sky Arts 'Portrait Artist of the Year', season 13

Summer Contemporary, Snape Maltings, UK

Ironbridge Fine Arts Printmaking Competition, Shropshire, UK

Ruin & Repair, 231LondonRoad, St Leonards, UK

2025

In Praise of Darkness, Electro Studios Project Space Off Site, Unit 2, St Leonards, UK

2023

Blast Gallery, Hastings, UK

2022

Open Plan: Summer Studio, Eastbourne Towner Gallery, UK

2021

Fermata, Kensington + Chelsea Art Week, UK

2019

Миниатюра встречается с монументальностью, Re:formers Festival, Moscow, Russia

Honens Festival, Calgary, Canada
Miniature meets Monumental, Melbourne, Australia

2018

The Phillips Collection, Washington DC, USA

2017

Uncaged, Museum Speelklok, Gaudeamus Muziekweek, Utrecht, Netherlands

2015

Brisbane International Arts Festival, Australia

Singapore International Festival of Arts

Brunswick Festival, Melbourne, Australia

Tasmanian International Arts Festival, Australia

WOMAD, Adelaide, Australia

2014

Singapore International Festival of Arts
Blurred Edges Festival, Kunstforum der GEDOK, Hamburg, Germany

2013

Clocked Out Festival, Brisbane, Australia
XXXV Foro Internacional de Música Nueva, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City

Blurred Edges Festival, Kunstforum der GEDOK, Hamburg, Germany
Chatelet Theatre, Paris, France