James Watkins

PAINTER / AUCKLAND

BIO

About James Watkins

Born in Oxford in 1984, James Watkins moved to Auckland at a young age, where his passion for photography and writing began. He spent his formative years surrounded by the rugged landscapes of Golden Bay and Great Barrier Island, which have had a lasting influence on his creative vision. In Golden Bay, he won first prize at the Golden Bay Art Awards and held his first solo photographic exhibition.

In 2010, James relocated to Australia, spending five years between Melbourne and Sydney and becoming immersed in the contemporary art scene. While working as an editor-in-chief, writer and photographer, he developed his arts journalism practice and began shaping a mixed-media art practice rooted in self-exploration, abstraction and experimental mark-making.

His journey continued through Oxfordshire, Istanbul and Paris, where he expanded his visual art practice into the streets, bringing photography and painting together in new ways. After returning to London, he held his debut solo painting exhibition, Somewhere Between, at Three Colt Gallery in 2019, followed by Jewels for Everyone at Nam House Gallery in Hackney.

In 2021, James moved to Mexico City, where he continued painting while working as an arts writer, consultant and photographer. He co-founded and co-directed Casa Astrónoma, a contemporary art space, and held his third solo exhibition there, Future Paradise, exploring Mexico’s colours, natural forms and history.

James returned to New Zealand in 2024 and now lives here, continuing to explore the intersection of nature, abstraction and personal narrative through painting and photography.

Browse James’s available works below, or enquire about a piece.