LAI
TERRA SONDER 2025
JAMES LAI
TERRA SONDER
TERRA SONDER
Singapore-born and Sydney-based contemporary landscape painter, James Lai explores abstraction in landscapes.
I look for shapes and colours in the landscape and portray them in simple forms, so there is an abstract quality to the work. My paintings are also about characterisation of natural elements found in the land. Giving character to paddocks, trees, clouds, hills and farm dams which creates a unique narrative of the landscape.
Self-taught, my works are not painted from life, rather they are imagined. Painting in a figurative abstract style, I use a signature palette and gestural brush strokes to express the movements in the land and figurative elements to visually anchor the landscape.
My paintings are first and foremost abstract works and secondly, landscapes. The abstract aspects of the work draw the viewer in and allow them the opportunity to interpret what they see, and then I add the figurative elements so the viewer can appreciate the familiar typical elements of a landscape; which enables them anchor their perspectives on the work.
The American abstract expressionists of the 1950s, particularly the colour field painters (Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still), are a key influence to my practice. They teach me to use colour and shapes to create the structure. Other influences include figurative painters (Philip Guston, Paul Klee, Henry Taylor and Rose Wylie) who help me work through adding figurative elements onto abstracted foundational layers.
I primarily work with acrylic paint on canvas or board. The fast drying characteristic of acrylic helps me build up the layers fast and facilitate a more effective artistic process flow. A lot of what goes into my work happens before the technical process begins at the easel.
There is a constant level of research that happens - both on subject matter and paint application techniques. Looking through art books, gallery exhibitions and having a reference to art history and the evolution of contemporary art.
When I begin a work in the studio, I start with sketches to inform what I intend to create. Following that, I start the creative process by painting layers over the canvas to form the foundational layers, and then I lay down the abstract layers and gradually add the figurative elements.
This exhibition “Terra Sonder” continues my exploration of abstraction found within landscapes. The meaning behind the title is that every land has unique qualities and has its own character and story; these paintings have their own story and life. A consistent theme for my works, which is about seeing the landscape as theatre with the natural elements as individual characters.
By observing from a distance, I see the broad shapes, patterns and colour fields that make up the landscape. Then I get c lose-up and start to see texture and feel the emotions that the land is giving. I bring all these aspects together to create figurative abstract landscapes.
The paintings are also about seeing the landscape as theatre, with its natural and atmospheric elements that add movement and drama. I employ a naïve and inventive art style to give the natural elements character and they help narrate the unique story of each landscape.
A career highlight includes being a Finalist in the 2023 Sir John Sulman Prize.
Opposite: Vineyards at Harvest, 2024 acrylic and sand on canvas, 95 x 115 cm
Opposite (Above):
in Spring, 2024
Paddocks
acrylic and sand on board, 30 x 40 cm
Spring Day in the Paddocks, 2024
acrylic and sand on board, 30 x 40 cm
Below:
Starry Night, Open Plains, 2024
acrylic on canvas, 90 x 120 cm
Starry Night Over Open Country, 2024
acrylic and sand on board, 30 x 40 cm
Left: Starry Night Over River Valley, 2024
acrylic and sand on board, 30 x 40 cm
Right: Vineyards in Bloom, 2024
acrylic and sand on board, 30 x 40 cm
Above: Stargazing at the Vineyards I, 2024 , acrylic and sand on canvas, 40 x 40 cm
Stargazing at the Vineyards II, 2024 , acrylic and sand on board, 40 x 40 cm
Below: Stargazing at the Vineyards III, 2024 , acrylic and sand on board, 40 x 40 cm
Stargazing at the Vineyards IV, 2024 , acrylic and sand on board, 40 x 40 cm
Above:
Starry Night and Blooming Vineyards I, 2024 , acrylic and sand on canvas, 60 x 50 cm
Below:
Starry Night and Blooming Vineyards II, 2024 , acrylic and sand on canvas, 60 x 50 cm
Spring Day, Vineyards and Pastures, 2024 , acrylic and sand on canvas, 60 x 80 cm
Paddock Trees and Billabongs, 2024 acrylic on canvas, 101 x 152 cm
Autumn Landscape Under Starry Sky, 2024 acrylic on canvas, 101 x 152 cm
Pastures in Bloom, 2024 acrylic and sand on canvas, 101 x 152 cm
Summer Paddocks and Vineyards, 2025 acrylic and sand on canvas, 122 x 152 cm
Starry Night in the Paddocks, 2025 acrylic and sand on canvas, 152 x 122 cm
Above:
Hills and Plains, 2025
acrylic and sand on canvas, 40 x 50 cm
Starry Night Over Plains, 2025
acrylic and sand on canvas, 40 x 50 cm
Opposite:
Starry Night in the Valley, 2025
acrylic and sand on canvas, 152 x 122 cm
:
Left: Paddocks Under a Starry Night, 2024 acrylic on canvas, 50 x 50 cm
Opposite
Windy Day in the Pastures, 2024 acrylic on canvas, 90 x 120 cm
Above: Starry Night Landscape, 2024
acrylic on canvas, 90 x 120 cm
Below: Dance of the Valley, 2024 acrylic on canvas, 90 x 120 cm
JAMES LAI
1975 Born, Singapore
Lives and works Sydney
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
2024 - Waverley Woollahra Art School 9x5 Landscape Prize - Finalist
2024 - Northern Beaches Environmental Art & Design Prize - Finalist
2024 - Blacktown City Art Prize - Finalist
2023 - Sir John Sulman Prize - Finalist
2023 - Hawkesbury Art Prize - Finalist (Commended)
2023 - Lethbridge 20000 Art Award - Finalist
2023 - Calleen Art Award - Finalist
2022 - Calleen Art Award - Finalist
2022 - Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award - Finalist
2021 - SBS Landscape Prize - Finalist
2021 - Northern Beaches Environmental Art and Design Prize - Finalist
2021 - Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award - Finalist
2021 - SBS Portrait Prize - Finalist
2020 - Paddington Art Prize - Finalist
2020 - Gosford Art Prize - Finalist
2020 - Greenway Art Prize - Finalist
2020 - Little Things Art Prize - Finalist
2020 - SBS Landscape Prize - Finalist
2020 - Inverell Art Prize - Finalist (Acquired into Inverell Art Gallery’s permanent collection)
2020 - Lethbridge 20000 Small Scale Art Award - Finalist
2020 - The Alice Prize - Finalist
2019 - Paddington Art Prize – Finalist
2019 - Hornsby Art Prize - Finalist
2019 - Blacktown City Art Prize - Finalist
2019 - Hawkesbury Art Prize - Finalist
RECENT EXHIBITIONS
2025 - Terra Sonder - Scott Livesey Galleries (Melbourne, VIC)
2024 – James Lai – Scott Livesey Galleries (Melbourne, VIC)
2024 – Nature Theatre – Michael Reid Gallery (Murrurundi, NSW)
2024 – Group exhibition – Inverell Art Gallery (Inverell, NSW)
2024 – Solo exhibition - Woollahra Gallery (Sydney)
2023 – Sulman Prize Finalist Exhibition - Art Gallery of New South Wales
