James Johnston

James Johnston (born 1966) is an English alternative rock musician and painter. He is best known as the founder and frontman of Gallon Drunk and the former guitarist and organist of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Johnston has also released albums as a solo artist, and contributed to recordings by and toured with different artists, including PJ Harvey, Faust, Barry Adamson and Lydia Lunch.

Biography

Musical career Johnston founded the London-based alternative rock band Gallon Drunk in 1990 as frontman and main songwriter. The group have been active, both recording and touring, to the present, releasing eight studio albums, compilations, and one live album, most recent being 2014's acclaimed The Soul Of The Hour.

Johnston was a touring member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in 1994, filling in for Blixa Bargeld during the band's Lollapalooza stint. He was a full-time Bad Seed from 2003 to 2008, contributing to the albums Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus (2004) and Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!! (2007).

Painting career

Johnston's 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).