James Daly

James Daly is a contemporary Australian artist working in oil paints. He creates portraits and figurative works that celebrate the expressive potential of the medium itself.

His paintings embrace spontaneity and gestural energy, with visible brushstrokes, scraped surfaces, and areas of thick impasto creating a dynamic interplay between representation and abstraction.

Rather than pursuing photographic representation, James' work leaves room for interpretation. Faces emerge through bold marks and colour decisions, with areas that are intentionally unfinished or disrupted. This approach invites viewers to actively complete the image in their own minds, making each encounter with the work a personal experience.

Working from his studio in Sydney, Australia, and exhibiting internationally, James draws on a limited palette tradition while pushing toward contemporary expressiveness. His paintings capture fleeting moments of human presence, not through meticulous detail, but through the physical act of painting itself. The result is work that feels alive, immediate, and deeply connected to the human touch that created it.

UNSW Art & Design, Fine Arts (Drawing & Painting)

2026
The Other Art Fair
London, United Kingdom
March 5 - 8th

Fifty Squared
Brunswick Street Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
June 20 - July 3

HumanKIND
Sydney Road Gallery, Sydney, Australia
August 13 - 31st

The Other Art Fair
London, United Kingdom
October 8 - 11th (upcoming)



2009
ARTEXPRESS
Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

ARTEXPRESS
Glasshouse Regional Gallery, Port Macquarie, Australia