James Knill: Through a Lucid Lens

Name: OPENING EXHIBITION: James Knill: Lucid Lens Spotlight — Old School Square
Start: 2026-05-01T18:00:00-0500
End: 2026-05-01T21:00:00-0500
Location: Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square

Friday, May 1, 2026
6:00 PM 9:00 PM

Cornell Art Museum at Old School Square 51 North Swinton Avenue Delray Beach, FL, 33444 United States (map)

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Solo Exhibition in Spotlight Gallery

Lucid Lens features 20–25 original works by South Florida–based artist James Knill, spanning both photography and oil painting, each piece thoughtfully framed by the artist himself. This spotlight gallery is presented in collaboration with Amanda James Gallery and The Highwaymen Collector of Fort Lauderdale. It includes works inspired by and alongside collections of renowned Highwaymen artist Rodney Demps.

Artist Statement

James Knill’s work explores the quiet power and mystery of the landscape through both photography and oil painting. His photographs capture fleeting moments of light and atmosphere, while his paintings reinterpret those scenes through emotion, texture, and imagination. Together, they reflect a deep fascination with nature’s serenity, its surreal qualities, and the sense of place that emerges where observation meets artistic expression.

Artist Bio

James Knill is a self-taught South Florida artist whose practice moves fluidly between photography and painting. Beginning over 30 years ago with 35mm film, his work is rooted in a lifelong drive to capture and interpret the world around him. His photography is marked by a deliberate, composed approach, emphasizing light, scale, and stillness, while his oil paintings transform landscapes into atmospheric, emotive experiences.

In addition to his landscapes, Knill explores abstraction, expanding his visual language into form, movement, and intuition. Across mediums, his work reflects a reverence for nature and a deeply personal yet universally resonant perspective.

James and his wife, Amanda Johnson, co-own Amanda James Gallery in Delray Beach, where his artistic vision extends into expert custom framing, bringing a meticulous and intentional approach to every piece.