Limited Palette

Fernisering 22. oktober kl. 17-18.30 

Walisisk-fødte og mangeårige Bornholm-beboer James Thomas er måske bedst kendt for sin karriere inden for musikken, hvor han har skrevet og produceret musik for internationale kunstnere som blandt andre CHER og Beth Hart. Men maleriet har været en konstant del af hans liv – en første kærlighed, som begyndte i barndommen, og som nu igen står centralt i hans kunstneriske praksis.

James Thomas’ kunstneriske talent blev anerkendt allerede i en tidlig alder. I 1976, da han blot var elleve år gammel, blev et af hans værker optaget på Royal Academy of Arts’ Summer Exhibition i London. Som fjortenårig fik han adgang til videregående kunstuddannelse og begyndte på Dyfed College of Art and Design i Wales. Senere blev han optaget på St Martin’s School of Art i London, men valgte at forlade studiet for at forfølge en karriere inden for musikken.

Limited Palette, som præsenteres på Svanekegården, markerer James Thomas’ første soloudstilling. Værkerne er skabt i 2026 og viser en ny retning i hans maleri, hvor han bevæger sig mod et mere ekspressivt og intuitivt visuelt udtryk.

Titlen Limited Palette afspejler både James Thomas’ tilgang til farver og hans tætte forhold til det bornholmske landskab. Særligt hans kærlighed til den lokale strand ved Sose har været en inspiration, hvor sandets nuancer møder den intense dybde i preussisk blå. Disse begrænsede farver bliver et udgangspunkt, hvor gestik, tekstur og følelse får lov til at træde frem på bekostning af det rent repræsentative.

Resultatet er en række værker, der befinder sig mellem landskab og abstraktion, hvor stedet ikke blot betragtes, men i lige så høj grad mærkes.

Welsh-born and long-time Bornholm resident James Thomas is perhaps best known for his career in music, having written and produced for international artists including CHER and Beth Hart. Yet painting has been a constant presence throughout his life — a first love that began in childhood and has now returned to the centre of his creative practice.

James Thomas’s artistic talent was recognised at an early age. In 1976, at just eleven years old, he had a work accepted into the Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition in London. At fourteen, he gained university entrance and went on to study at Dyfed College of Art and Design in Wales. He was subsequently accepted to St Martin’s School of Art in London, but chose to leave his studies and pursue a career in music.

Limited Palette, presented at Svanekegården, marks James Thomas’s first solo exhibition. Created in 2026, the works signal a new direction in his painting, moving towards a more expressive and instinctive visual language.

The title Limited Palette reflects both James Thomas’s approach to colour and his close relationship with the Bornholm landscape. In particular, it draws from his affection for the local beach at Sose, where the tones of the sand meet the intense depth of Prussian blue. These colours become a point of departure — allowing gesture, texture and emotion to take precedence over representation.

The result is a body of work that sits between landscape and abstraction, where place is felt as much as it is observed.