James Albon is an award-winning artist, writer, and illustrator from Scotland. His artwork is inspired by stories of people, places, and human connection, with a strong foundation in observational drawing and painting. 

Returning from a three month artist residency at AiRK in Kobe, Japan, Albon uses this new body of work to explore themes of language-learning, cross-cultural connection, and the bewildering experience of being only semi-conversant in a foreign language. Inspired by the 17th century Japanese Namban Byobu (南蛮屛風), folding screens which depict the earliest European merchants and missionaries arriving in Japan, Albon's work plays on the contemporary experience of travel in the chaotic 21st century. With a series of observational drawings and large-scale studio works developed from the residency, the exhibition tells stories from the no-man's land between tradition and technology, enjoyment and anxiety, clear communication and utter confusion. 

Albon has written and illustrated several graphic novels, including Love Languages (2025) and The Delicacy (2021), and illustrated for clients around the world including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Guardian and the Folio Society. His work has been exhibited in London, New York, Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Kobe. He has received awards from The Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, The V&A Award, The Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, and the Rene Carcan Award. 

OPENING TIMES

Opening: Friday 27th June 6pm to 9pm

Saturday 28th June 11am to 4pm
Sunday 29th June 11am to 4pm