James Johnston (born 1966) is an English alternative rock musician and

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Biography

Musician

Musician and artist James Johnston founded the London-based alternative rock band

Gallon Drunk Gallon Drunk were an English alternative rock band formed in London in 1988. Their sound contains a variety of influences, from noise to blues and jazz, and is noted for its dark subject matter. Biography The band formed in 1988 with an initi ...

in 1990 as frontman and main songwriter.Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 755-6 The group have been active, both recording and touring, to the present, releasing eight studio albums, compilations, and one

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, most recent being 2014's acclaimed 'The Soul Of The Hour'. Johnston was a touring member of

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds are an Australian rock music, rock band formed in 1983 by vocalist Nick Cave, multi-instrumentalist Mick Harvey and guitarist-vocalist Blixa Bargeld. The band has featured international personnel throughout its care ...

in 1994, filling in for

Blixa Bargeld Blixa Bargeld (born Christian Emmerich, 12 January 1959) is a German musician who has been the lead singer of the band Einstürzende Neubauten since its formation in 1980. Bargeld was also a founding member of the Australian rock band Nick Cave a ...

during the band's

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

stint. He was a full-time Bad Seed from 2003 to 2008, contributing to the albums ''

Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus ''Abattoir Blues / The Lyre of Orpheus'' is the thirteenth studio album by the Australian alternative rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, released on 20 September 2004 on Mute Records. It is a double album of seventeen songs. History The al ...

'' and (2004) ''

Dig Lazarus Dig ''Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!'' is the fourteenth studio album by Australian rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. The album was recorded in June and July 2007 at The State of the Ark Studios in Richmond, London and mixed by Nick Launay at British Gr ...

'' (2007). He has also recorded and toured with a wide variety of other musicians, including Lydia Lunch (both solo and as the band Big Sexy Noise), French alternative rock group Ulan Bator, Barry Adamson, and as a member of legendary Krautrock band Faust, and recording and performing with

PJ Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

. Johnston has contributed scores to numerous film and television projects, the play The Nest, working together with PJ Harvey, and most recently All About Eve stage play, again with PJ Harvey. He has collaborated with

Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films in the main were liberal adaptation ...

and acted for

Olivier Assayas Olivier Assayas (born 25 January 1955) is a French film director, screenwriter and film critic. Assayas is known for his slow-burning period pieces, psychological thrillers, neo-noirs and French comedies. His work has become synonymous with the ...

in his award-winning film '' Clean''. Johnston released a solo album, ''The Starless Room'', in November 2016 which was produced by

Johann Scheerer Johann Wilhelm Karl Jakob Scheerer (6 November 1982 in Henstedt-Ulzburg) is a German musician and music producer based in Hamburg. He is known for his production of bands like Bosnian Rainbows, Peter Doherty, Omar Rodríguez-López, Faust or Gal ...

. On February 26, 2021, Johnston will release a collaborative album with musician and photographer Steve Gullick titled ''We Travel Time''.

Painter

His turn to painting initially began with working small scale in hotel rooms on tour, subsequently becoming his primary focus as a daily studio practice. His work has been used on book covers, album artwork and in art publications. Johnson is a figurative painter. His paintings are both bold and loose. The often unsettling, darkly humorous, and totemic images are based between the everyday and the world of the imagination.

Solo shows

The Stash gallery, London. 2019.

Group shows

*Linear – Gallery 64a. 2018. *Extricate – Gallery 64a. 2018. *A Letter in Mind – The Oxo Tower, London. 2018. *Push The Boat Out – The Art Academy Walworth. 2018. *Jo Mama's Alphabet Show – Studio One gallery. 2018. *Jo Mama's Second Alphabet Show – A-side B-side gallery. 2018 *You Know More Than I Know – The Art Academy, London. 2019 *A Letter in Mind – The Oxo Tower, London. 2019.

Magazine and book appearances

*Persona #8. France. 2019 *Sargasso arts magazine (Featured artist and cover art). Germany. 2018 *Epifanio 2018 edition. Estonia.Johnson is a figurative painter. *Featured artist in Prospero Arts, The Economist. 2019. *The Art of the Murder Ballad. (featured artist) Holland. *'Nadirs' – Tom Buron. (cover art) *'Love is an ancient disease' – M.A. Littler. (cover art).

References

* 1966 births Living people English pop musicians Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds members Musicians from Surrey People from Guildford {{UK-music-bio-stub