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ABOUT
Singapore-born and Sydney-based contemporary artist whose practice centres on landscape painting as a space shaped by memory, sensation, and shifting perspective. His work reimagines terrain through layered colour and intuitive mark-making, where rivers, valleys, and clusters of trees emerge and dissolve within luminous, dynamic fields.
Grounded in an earlier focus on observed landscape, Lai’s paintings move beyond direct representation toward imagined environments guided by rhythm, atmosphere, and emotional resonance. Natural and human elements such as waterways and pathways interweave to form landscapes that feel both familiar and in flux. Colour and gesture lead each composition, allowing the image to unfold as an immersive field rather than a fixed view.
A career highlight includes being a Finalist in the 2023 Sir John Sulman Prize.
Achievements:
2025 Finalist - Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize
2025 Finalist - Georges River Art Prize
2025 Finalist - The Vincent Prize
2024 Finalist - Waverley Woollahra Art School 9x5 Landscape Prize
2024 Finalist - Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize
2024 Finalist - Blacktown City Art Prize
2023 Finalist - Sir John Sulman Prize
2023 Finalist - Calleen Art Award
2023 Finalist - Hawkesbury Art Prize (Commended)
2023 Finalist - Lethbridge 20000 Art Award
2022 Finalist - Calleen Art Award
2022 Finalist - Lethbridge 20000 Art Award
2021 Finalist - Northern Beaches Environment Art and Design Prize
2021 Finalist - Lethbridge 20000 Art Award
2021 Finalist - SBS Portrait Prize
2020 Finalist - Paddington Art Prize
2020 Finalist - Gosford Art Prize
2020 Finalist - Greenway Art Prize
2020 Finalist - Little Things Art Prize
2020 Finalist - SBS Landscape Prize
2020 Finalist - Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award
2020 Finalist - The Alice Prize
2019 Finalist - Paddington Art Prize
2019 Finalist - Hornsby Art Prize
2019 Finalist - Blacktown City Art Prize
2019 Finalist - Hawkesbury Art Prize
Solo exhibitions:
2026 'Atlas of things' - Scott Livesey Galleries, VIC
2025 'Of hues and constructed spaces' - Michael Reid Gallery (Murrurundi) NSW
2025 'Terra Sonder' - Scott Livesey Galleries, VIC
2024 'Nature Theatre' - Michael Reid Gallery (Murrurundi) NSW
2024 'Theatre' - Woollahra Gallery, Sydney, NSW
Group exhibitions:
2025 - Spring/Summer Salon 2025 - Scott Livesey Galleries, VIC
2025 - Winter Salon - Scott Livesey Galleries, VIC
2025 - Autumn Salon - Scott Livesey Galleries, VIC
2024 - Stala Contemporary, WA
2024 - Winter Salon - Scott Livesey Galleries, VIC
2024 - Inverell Gallery, NSW
2023 - Stala Contemporary, WA
2023 - Day Gallery, Blackheath, NSW
2023 - Art Gallery of NSW, Finalist exhibition - Sir John Sulman Prize
2020 - Michael Reid Gallery, Berlin
2020 - Group Landscape exhibition - Michael Reid Gallery, Sydney
2019-2025 - Various national art prize finalist exhibitions
Exhibiting at the following galleries:
Scott Livesey Galleries (Melbourne, Victoria)
Michael Reid Gallery (Murrurundi, New South Wales)
Day Gallery (Blackheath, New South Wales)
James' works are held in private collections in Australia, New Zealand, USA, United Kingdom, Italy and Singapore.