Awards

After years of exhibiting in solo and group shows across Australia, I reached a point where staying local no longer felt like enough. I wanted to challenge myself—to see how my work would resonate on the international stage. In 2010, inspired by the Andy Warhol story of turning up at galleries with nothing but nerve and art, I packed several oversized bags with small- to medium-sized pieces and flew to New York City.

Armed with a few contacts and a lot of determination, I spent days pounding the streets of Chelsea, knocking on gallery doors and introducing myself. Most responses were polite refusals—“We’ll get back to you,” or “We already represent too many artists.” But eventually, one gallery invited me to join a group show the following year.

I’ll never forget walking into that gallery for the first time—AC/DC was blasting through the speakers, not exactly what you’d expect in a contemporary art space. The curator, upon hearing my Australian accent, lit up and launched into stories about his love for the band and his past friendship with some of its members. That connection broke the ice, and before long, we were talking about my work.

The show opened in the midst of a record-breaking snowstorm and a global financial crisis—but none of that diminished the experience. That moment marked a creative turning point and later inspired my short film A Day and a Dream, which captured the contrast between the frenzy of New York and the stillness of rural life back on the farm.

The following year, I was invited to join a contingent of New York artists exhibiting at an art fair in Chicago—an incredible opportunity that further fueled my momentum. Back in Australia, I returned to the local scene, exhibiting at the Midsummer Festival and various art fairs in Melbourne, as well as participating in several exhibitions in Brisbane.

In  2011, I began a portrait series of Byron Bay inventor Ric Richardson for the Archibald Prize. One piece featured Ric alongside his dog Max and pet chicken, with a ghostly image of Albert Einstein watching from behind. It was a playful, imaginative fusion of realism and eccentricity.

By 2014, I had fully embraced filmmaking. After years of working alone in the studio, the collaborative energy of a film set offered a refreshing creative shift. My short film Speak to Me (2015) won the People’s Choice Award at the Byron Bay Short Film Festival, and several of my other shorts were finalists in Flickerfest’s “All Shorts” program.

Writing has always run alongside my visual practice. In 2023, I completed my first full-length screenplay, Misgivings, with the goal of producing it independently. After setting up a film company called Big Quirk Productions, I assembled a talented cast and crew and shot the indie feature film in 2024, in a stunning coastal town in New South Wales. After completing post-production in early 2025, Misgivings entered the international film circuit and has already begun receiving several nominations and selections. The journey of Misgivings will no doubt continue to evolve well into 2026 and will hopefully be the catalyst for many more quirky, original films to come.

Whether through painting, film, or storytelling, I continue to pursue bold, heartfelt ideas. The tools may change—but the passion remains. For me, creativity will always be a road worth pounding.

Duncan James 

24th June 2025