/Know the artist
The hand behind the canvas
_______I am Henry J, an oil painter working between Dubai and New York. I paint slowly and on purpose, each canvas a record of attention, kept in oil.
/Biography
______A painter's life, told the same way the work is made: slowly, honestly, one layer at a time.
______My work sits between still life and memory. I paint everyday subjects, dusk light on fabric, interiors, the sea, in layered oil, letting texture carry what the subject alone cannot. The paintings are quiet on purpose; they ask you to slow down with them.
/In the studio, 2026
______I trained at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, then spent five formative years in Dubai, where the desert light rewired how I see color. Since 2021 the practice has moved between studios in Dubai and New York, and the work has followed, from small intimate panels to the large canvases in the current collection.
____I am represented by Meridian Gallery, New York, with works placed in private collections across three continents. Outside the studio I keep an old sailboat, cook badly but enthusiastically, and share a home with my wife and an opinionated cat named Umber.
Henry J
Notable exhibitions
/Collectors and press
_______Where the paintings live now, and where the work has been written about.
Collections
The Farjam Collection, Dubai. The Hort Family Collection, New York. Soho House Art Collection, global. Private collections in London, Singapore, and Los Angeles.
Press
Featured in Artforum, "Painters to Watch," 2025. Interviewed in Harper's Bazaar Arabia, 2024. Studio visit in Juxtapoz, 2023. Canvas Magazine cover story, 2022.
_______If the work speaks to you, the studio door is open. Every message is read personally.
/Reach the studio
______A quick reference. For commissions and inquiries, the contact page has the full story.
_______For commissions, visit the contact page, every message is read by the artist.
