Born 10 March 1954
Pietermaritzburg, Kwazulu-Natal.
Currently lives and works in Johannesburg, South Africa.
James de Villiers has been active as an artist, since about the age of 19 and has followed a path of continual exploration, experimentation and self-education.
Over the past ten years or so his painting style has undergone several radical changes although the expressionistic style is one he had in the 1980s. He has been influenced mainly by the Dutch, German and Flemish masters and has produced a large body of realist works which include landscape, still life, portraits and skyscapes. A small part of his output in the 1990s includes paintings based on South African history, namely the Anglo Boer War and the Zulu War. He works between realism and expressionism, emphasising the particular style when the need demands it.
De Villiers main themes are derived from a study of military, art and social history, an interest in archaeology, science, ecology and music.
Selected Exhibitions:
· 1985 One person exhibition at the Market Gallery, Johannesburg
· 1991 Kempton Park Art Competition, overall and category winner
· 1992 "Made in August" exhibition at the Newtown Galleries, Johannesburg
· 1993 Group Show, Anti-Gravity Gallery, Rosebank, Johannesburg
· 1993 "Drawing with light", group show, ICA, Johannesburg
· 1993 Johannesburg Corporate Art, a group show at the Artists Co-Operative, Midrand
· 1993 One-person exhibition at the Long Gallery, S A Association of Art Gallery, Cape Town
· 1994 "Biting The Ballot", Rembrandt Gallery, Johannesburg
· 1995 Curators Choice Exhibition, Rembrandt Gallery, Johannesburg
· 1996 "Landscapes", two man show at Gallery Palette, Pretoria Art Gallery with Pieter Swanepoel
· 1998 Participated in group show, " Buttons" at the Civic Gallery, Johannesburg
· 1999 Participated in group exhibition touring Mexico and the US, "Transmigrations 1999" with installation "Architecture of Air" and accompanying soundscape by Andi Spicer.
· 2004 Exhibited on group shows at Gordart Gallery, Melville "For the Record/Off the Record". Organised and performed in "Mayday Experimental music evening" at Gordart. Exhibited in Christmas Miniature show.
· 2005 January 16 - February 9: Exhibition "Forty Hand painted Pictures" at Gordart Gallery
· 2006 "Nature Morte" a solo exhibition at the Gordart gallery in Melville, Johannesburg
· 2009 Participated in GTZ International Photographic workshop and exhibition, "Diversity, the impulse for development".
· 2010 March: Exhibited "Earth & Sky" at Right on the Rim at Arts on Main in Johannesburg.
· 2011 Participated in the Leonard Cohen exhibition, “Altered Pieces” curated by Gordon Froud