James Rielly was born in Wrexham, Wales in 1956. His work catapulted him to success and he was subsequently dubbed as member of “the new heritage” at the Oriel Mostyn Gallery. Rielly’s pieces often depict motifs, clichés and themes of youth and childhood. By focusing on surrealist portraits of youth inspired by stories and images from local newspaper, Rielly sheds light to the immaturity, sense of aloofness, and inherent dysfunctional nature of adults.

Rielly has shown in exhibitions around the world including Monteverita (Paris), GE Galería (Monterrey), Galería Herrero de Tejada (Madrid), New Art Projects (London), and Galerie Wittenbrink (Munich) among others. His work is held in collections such as the Arts Council of England, Dakis Joannou Collection, Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Frissiras Collection, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes. He studied at the Gloucester College of Art & Design in Cheltenham, UK, and at Belfast College of Art in North Ireland. He is currently Professor of Painting at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris, France.

Rielly lives and works in Paris.