James Hale is a text artist working in Melbourne. He makes colourful paintings and austere drawings in his Brunswick studio. His practice is rooted in the tradition of other queer text artists like Rene Ricard, David McDiarmid, Tracey Emin, and David Robilliard. He was the winner of the 2020 Fifty Squared Art Prize and was a finalist in the 2020 Paul Guest Drawing Prize, the 2021 Footscray Prize, the 2021 M16 Drawing Prize, the 2022 Alice Prize, the 2023 Paddington Prize, the 2023 Fisher’s Ghost Art Award, and the 2024 Midsumma Art Prize.
Image: J Davies.