Hong Kong, 15 April 2026 - PhillipsX, the selling exhibition platform operated by Phillips' global Private Sales team, has announced Dissecting the Square. Colours and Black by Alexander James, a major new body of work by the British multimedia artist Alexander James. The selling exhibition goes on view at Phillips' Asia Headquarters in Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District from 27 April to 31 May, marking a significant moment for an artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, video, and installation, and who is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most compelling voices of his generation.
A graduate of Camberwell College of Arts in London, James has exhibited internationally in London, Paris, and New York. The exhibition takes its title from a formative moment in his studio, when early morning sunlight sharply divided an empty canvas. James describes how the light was "literally dissecting the square," an image that became the conceptual starting point for the series and that frames the canvas as both a physical structure and a symbolic boundary.
At the core of the work is an ongoing exploration of the square as a site of fragmentation, repetition, structure, and possibility. "I often divide the surface of the canvas into four equal quadrants, each functioning as an individual artwork or collectively forming a unified composition," James said. "This process allows me to explore ideas of fragmentation, repetition, and cohesion, while also challenging the viewer's perception of the whole versus the part." For James, the square is not simply a compositional device but the central language through which he explores the tension between control and freedom. The paintings emerge through a process that begins with writing, notation, and loose sketches before moving into a highly intuitive, expressive engagement with the canvas. "Before the painting process starts, it usually entails me writing and jotting down all these little notes," he added, describing painting as "a marathon of lots of little sprints."
The works on view
The new series gathers a group of paintings executed in oil and acrylic on canvas, each measuring 100 by 100 cm, in which the act of dissecting the square plays a pivotal role both formally and conceptually. Among the works presented are Blue Pulse (2025), Slowly Dissolving (2025), and Between Us The Fog (2025), alongside the more recent In a Place of Portrait (2026), Summit of Souls (2026), and Interesting Fates (2026). While rooted in abstraction, the paintings are equally informed by portraiture and the fragmented presence of the human figure. Drawing on personal archives, recorded memories, and everyday observations, faces and bodily forms emerge as psychological traces rather than literal representations, often obscured or incomplete, existing in tension with the geometric structure of the square.
A dialogue with abstraction's lineage
James's new body of work is grounded in a rich art-historical lineage, entering a conceptual dialogue with the legacies of Josef Albers, Richard Diebenkorn, and Sean Scully, among others, while remaining distinctly his own. The influence of Albers' Homage to the Square series is especially resonant. Like Albers, James uses the square as a formal structure through which perception is destabilized and reassembled. Yet where Albers explored chromatic relationships with rigorous restraint, James expands the form into expressive, psychologically charged compositions. The work also resonates with the emotional architecture of Mark Rothko, the modular rigor of Donald Judd, the expanded geometries of Frank Stella, and the radical formal propositions of Kazimir Malevich, while echoes of Scully's rhythmic bands and structural blocks can likewise be felt in his exploration of balance, structure, and emotional resonance.
"In an era where abstraction continues to evolve, Alexander James stands out as one of the most compelling young voices redefining the square today," said Jonathan Crockett, Chairman, Asia, Phillips. "With Dissecting the Square. Colours and Black by Alexander James, he brings renewed vitality to one of art history's most enduring forms, infusing it with a raw, contemporary energy shaped by urban life, memory, and psychological depth. This exhibition not only honours abstraction's rich past but powerfully signals its vibrant future, offering collectors works of genuine intellectual depth and lasting appeal."
The exhibition is on view at Phillips' Asia Headquarters, GF, WKCDA Tower, West Kowloon Cultural District, No. 8 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong, from 27 April to 31 May. PhillipsX, operated by the global Private Sales team, extends Phillips' reach beyond the auction room through a selling and discovery experience based on the traditional retail gallery model, highlighting notable artists and creators of the 20th and 21st centuries.
(Press Release)
