James McQueen

Supercharged with colour, McQueen’s book-themed artworks create an effect not dissimilar to the giant playing cards in Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Taking an object you can hold in your hands and blowing it up into something you can hang on your wall has been a long-time fascination of the artist, who seeks to capture the look and feel of vintage books via layers of stripped-back paint. An avid collector, he can often be found amongst the dusty shelves and secret backrooms of old bookshops in New York and London.

Using paint and a spray can, McQueen light-heartedly subverts the traditional representation of book covers through his tongue-in-cheek titles and bold, contemporary aesthetic. The subject of books – explored by artists including the American illustrator Norman Rockwell – is given a modern feel through the incorporation of graffiti elements. Inspired by artists like Rothko, these urban touches elevate the vintage, distressed feel of the book covers, adding texture and challenging their history. McQueen adds: "I want to create that wear and tear, that authenticity. It’s too easy to do something clean. It’s too easy to do something with straight lines. It’s much harder to make something look old and tired."

Uniting book-lovers, ardent readers and collectors of art, his Non-Fiction collections evoke the deeply personal experience and nostalgia that a book can create for its owner. Our emotional response to the words of a book – whether on the inside pages or the front cover – is personal to us. Just as each person interprets a character, or an artwork, differently, the quotes from McQueen’s book covers hold significance in uniquely special ways. The carefully-selected typography gives these titles a voice, allowing them to convey a message through humour or caution.

McQueen is a collector not only of books, but of memories; as a child, he painted with his grandfather and watched The Joy of Painting, an American live-painting show presented by Bob Ross. Stylistic influences have also been meticulously shelved: the boldness of Tracey Emin, the honesty of Jean-Michel Basquiat and the abstraction of Francis Bacon. Likened to those of Mark Rothko, his faded layers reveal a surprising complexity to his work, heightened by a background in photography and woodwork. Joined together like the letters of a word, all of these elements combine to create art for people who want to escape from the stress and seriousness of real life, as if into the pages of a good book.

In his latest collection, released in the Summer of 2023, the mysterious artist features some of his most popular titles in a way never seen before. Named Anthology - a collection of artistic works that have a similar form or subject, often those considered to be the best – showcases the artist’s evolving and versatile talent, harnessing the alluring magic of old books and powerful quotes. The artist, whose anonymity allows collectors to truly appreciate the art for itself, draws from a powerful range of materials and influences to create his work. Bold colours reflect the satirical and iconic quotes throughout the collection, subverting the vintage aesthetic of historical books.

Shop James' full collection here.