The gallery P420 in Bologna has opened "See Through," the second solo exhibition by Welsh artist Merlin James. The show features a non-linear curation that blends works from different decades, ranging from landscapes and interiors to erotic scenes and near-abstract compositions. James’s approach treats the exhibition as a "jam session," where visual and thematic repetitions provide a structure for diverse painterly explorations.
The exhibition highlights James's career-long investigation into the materiality of painting, where the canvas often functions as much as an object as an image. By playing with the dual meaning of the title—referring both to the physical transparency of paint and the commitment to seeing a process through to completion—the show reinforces James's reputation for intellectual depth and technical variety within the contemporary painting landscape.