James Cochran, aka Jimmy C was born in England and grew up in Australia. He played a key role in the development of the underground graffiti movement during the early 1990's, and after working on numerous mural commissions and community arts projects, went on to complete a Masters degree in Visual Arts at the University of South Australia with an interest in urban realist and figurative oil painting. His two interests in graffiti and oil painting converged, leading to the development of Cochran's signature aerosol pointillist style; portraits or urban landscapes painted entirely from dots and dashes of spray paint. This technique developed into what he called the drip paintings, composed of layers of coloured drips or energetic lines to form vibrant and poetic cityscapes and portraits. His murals and canvases have appeared in the streets and galleries around the world.
Some of his most well known works include a portrait of Shakespeare at Bankside near the Globe theatre in London and a portrait of David Bowie in Brixton that has since been listed by the council after it became a shrine and site of tribute to the late musician. Other notable works are his London cityscape mural at Blackfriars station next to the Tate Modern and his London Hearts at Borough Market. His painted signature heart became an iconic image leading to collaborations with Liberty London for London Fashion Week and in 2018 with Network Rail to paint a large heart in London Bridge as a meeting point. In 2021 he was invited by the British Consulate in Ekaterinburg to paint a mural of the Beatles, where an exhibition of his work was held and where digital works of his paintings were projected onto the side of the Yeltsin Museum. More recent collaborations include work with Rolls Royce, Disney, Sky Sports, Paypal, and Lamborghini. In 2024 Jimmy will participate in the British Art Fair at the Saatchi Gallery with Sedition and Muse Frame.
Commissions
2023, Every Can Counts, a painting installation supported by Covent Garden, London
2023 'Timelines' - a mural for the Adelaide Festival Centre in collaboration with Elizabeth Close.
2023 Lamborghini and Zagame for the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, painted live during the festival then later installed in the Lamborghini offices in Boulogne, Italy.
2020 London Cityscape, Blackfriars station, London with support from Network Rail
2020 'Meet at the Heart' painting in London Bridge station with support from Network Rail
2019 Portrait of Lewis Hamilton at Silverstone, UK. Project supported by Sky Sports F1.
2019 Portrait of Jean Moulin, exterior wall, Ville de Chartres, France
2018 Disney, Painting for Mickey Mouse's 90th Anniversary with Disney Studios, London
2018 Portrait of Camille Claudel, exterior wall, Ville de Roubaix, France
2017 Rolls Royce, Derby, UK - Portraits of Charles Rolls and Henry Royce
2017 Pay Pal, Berlin - Portraits of Albert Einsteen, Maria Goeppert Mayer , and Marlene Dietrich inside the Paypal offices
2017 Paintings for the Adelaide Fringe Festival and the Desert Fringe Festival in Port Augusta, South Australia
2016 Painting for Instagram for Ad Week Europe at Picturehouse Central, London
2016 Portrait of Basquiat, exterior courtyard wall at Jackman Gallery, Melbourne
2016 Portrait of Lou Reed, for the Art Liberty Collection, Paris - Portrait painted on a remaining piece of the Berlin Wall.
2015 Bird in Hand Winery, South Australia - Thirteen portraits of women painted in the scene of The Last Supper
2014 Liberty London, Cosmic Heart textile print, UK
2013 Portrait of John Lennon, Hopskotch Bar, Liverpool, UK
Murals
2021 The Beatles mural for the Beatles centre and monument in Ekaterinburg, Russia. With support from the UK Consulate in Ekaterinburg and the British Embassy Moscow.
2018 'The Offering' , a mural for the Infinito Festival, Cascais, Portugal
2018 Les Capucines de l'Art - One artist, one film, Paris
2018 London Hearts, Borough Market with support from Network Rail, London
2018 Portrait of indigenous elder Steve Goldsmith in collaboration with Elizabeth Close , Adelaide
2017 Painting for the Wonderwalls Festival, Adelaide
2016 Portrait of Shakespeare in celebration of 400 years of Shakespeare, Bankside, London. With support from Network Rail.
2014 Painting for the City of Colours festival, Birmingham
2014 Portrait of Clarice Lispector in collaboration with Sliks, Sao Paulo
2013 Portrait of Bowie in Brixton in conjunction with The Many Faces of David Bowie exhibition at the Opera gallery, London
2013 Paintings for the Museum of Public Art, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2013 Portrait of Anne Frank for the Anne Frank Museum, Berlin
2012 Portrait of Usain Bolt, London for the London Olympics, 2012
2011 Painting for the Street art Festival, Hasselt, Belgium
2011 Painting at 5 Pointz, New York
Solo Exhibitions
2021 Glavny Prospekt Gallery, Ekaterinburg, Russia
2017 Galerie Nunc, Grenoble
2016 Galerie Raison d'Art, Lille
2015, Atomised, East End Gallery, London
2014, Au Coeur de la Rue, Galerie Maison Dauphine, Aix-en-Provence
2014, Nocturnes, Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne
2013 The Riot Series, Pure Evil Gallery, London
2011 Exhibition and Print Release, The Outside World Gallery, London
2011 De la ville à la mer, Galerie Raison d'Art, Lille, France
2011 The London Street Portraits - Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne
2010 New Paintings - Lindberg Galleries, Melbourne
2010 Blessé(d) - FELT Space, Adelaide
2009 New Paintings - Lindberg Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2008 City Souls - Boutwell Draper Gallery, Sydney
2008 New Paintings - Lindberg Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2007 James Cochran - New Paintings, Mahoneys Galleries, Melbourne
2006 James Cochran - Peintures 1996-2006, Tri-Postal, Lille, France
2006 Point Ephemere, Paris, France
2004 Aerosol Pointillism, Adelaide Central Gallery
2003 Gitte Weise Gallery, Sydney
2003 The Project Space, The Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia
2001 BMGART, Adelaide
Group Exhibitions
2019 Art Liberté - From the Berlin Wall to Street Art, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, for the European Capital of Culture 2019
2016 Scope Art Fair, Next Street Gallery, Miami
2014 The Pitiless Gaze of Hysterical Realsim, 999 Contemporary, Rome
2013 The Many Faces of David Bowie, Opera Gallery London
2012 Selected works, Aptos Cruz Gallery, South Australia
2012 Unfinished, The Art Gallery of South Australia
2012 World Street Collective, Galerie Raison d'Art, Lille
2011, Alley Gallery, Hasselt, Belgium
2010 Intangibles in Terra Australis, Kubo Kuxta Museum, San Sebastien, Spain
2009 Reflections of Australia, Au New Hub Gallery, Beijing, China
2008 Graphein, Lindberg Contemporary Art, Melbourne
2008 The Archibald Prize Finalist Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW
2005 Identity and Desire, Art Gallery of South Australia
2005 Everyday Addictions, Art Gallery of South Australia
