‘Roaming Rites’ is a solo exhibition of new paintings by James D. Wilson, presented at This House Gallery, Nailsworth.

James D Wilson paintings resist the idea of landscape as something observed from a single, fixed viewpoint. Instead he accumulates partial views and moments of interruption in sketch form, captured from train windows or on foot. These fragments are carried into his studio paintings, which have a re-constructed quality to them, reflecting the experience of passing through a place rather than standing still within it. Gestural marks suggest terrain, paths, and horizons, while hard edges, cuts and shifts in scale disrupt continuity. Light, often crepuscular or unsettled, reinforces a sense of transition.
The title Roaming Rites plays on “roaming rights,” reframing movement through the land as a repeated, habitual act. The anticipation of outward journeys and the reflection that follows on the return leg offer distinct ways of seeing. Together they inform paintings shaped by rhythm, memory, and the quiet rituals of passage.

Wilson’s 2023 artist residency with the gallery’s founders marked a shift in his practice towards landscape as a central focus, and this collection brings together ideas and approaches that he has been developing since.