Artist Statement

I make abstract, geometric and expressionist silkscreen prints.

A love of vibrant colour and off-kilter repetition has been part of me for as long as I can recall, but in an ever-more artificial and filtered world, art where you see and feel the hand of the maker seems more important than ever. With every pull of the squeegee I’m looking to capture moments of energy, eschewing design and perfection for a looseness and pure spontaneity.

Paper and canvas are wonderful materials to print on. I also can’t help thinking ‘what if…’ which leads to experimenting with less familiar materials such as chiffon, tulle and other textiles. I’ve been wondering lately about plaster and cement…

Being ‘over-sensitive’ with ‘a heightened sensitivity to injustice’ means that 21st-century inequality and division doesn’t sit well with me. My work addresses this boldly and simplistically (I don’t see simplistic as a negative), celebrating unity in difference, presenting an optimistic vision more joyful and hopeful. The Seneca phrase “we are waves of the same sea” chimes loudly, informing a recurring theme and motif.

Minimal in form and generous in their use of colour, I’m aiming for a physicality from looking at my prints, for people to feel the motion and visual energy. It’s work to be experienced rather than explained, and rewards repeated viewing. But don’t take my word for it, come and see for yourself.

Bio

Working from Beanwave, his studio in rural Northamptonshire, James Bristow (b. 1973) is a self-taught contemporary British artist known for his abstract, geometric and expressionist silkscreen prints.

His work has been selected for various group exhibitions in the past three years, including at: MK Gallery, Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, The Royal Cambrian Academy of Art, New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, and was selected by Aindrea Emelife for The Discerning Eye 2022. In 2025 he was awarded a CVAN EM development bursary, and has been shortlisted for the 2025 Jackson’s Art Prize and the 2026 John Ruskin Prize. Bristow’s practice has been featured in the publications Pressing Matters (issue 17) and Uppercase (issue 56). Work has been purchased by private collectors in the UK, Tokyo, Dubai and the United States.