James Gillick (born 1972, Norfolk) Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery 20th Anniversary Exhibition Catalogue is an artist who works in the figurative tradition. His studio is based in

Louth, Lincolnshire Louth () is a market town and civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England.OS Explorer map 283:Louth and Mablethorpe: (1:25 000): Louth serves as an important town for a large rural area of eastern Lincolnshire. Visitor ...

. He is known for painting

still-life A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or man-made (drinking glasses, boo ...

work, and also other subject matter which include game paintings, portraits, horse paintings. He is also known for his work in

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

re-ordering and

gilding Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

Life and work

Gillick gained a degree in

Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor areas, landmarks, and structures to achieve environmental, social-behavioural, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic design and general engineering of various structures for constructio ...

from Cheltenham and Gloucester College in 1993. He is the son of Catholic activist

Victoria Gillick Victoria D. M. Gillick (''née'' Gudgeon; born 1946, in Hendon) is a British activist and campaigner best known for the eponymous 1985 UK House of Lords ruling that considered whether contraception could be prescribed to under-16s without pare ...

, and theatre set designer and former

UKIP The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest p ...

county councilor Gordon Gillick. James Gillick has an identical twin, sculptor Theodore Gillick.''Lincolnshire Pride Magazine'' (August 2009) He is a cousin to 2002

Turner Prize The Turner Prize, named after the English painter J. M. W. Turner, is an annual prize presented to a British visual artist. Between 1991 and 2016, only artists under the age of 50 were eligible (this restriction was removed for the 2017 award) ...

nominee

Liam Gillick Liam Gillick (born 1964, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire) is a British artist who lives and works in New York City.

, and his great uncle and aunt were sculptor

Ernest Gillick Ernest George Gillick (19 November 1874 – 25 September 1951) was a British sculptor. Life Gillick was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, on 19 November 1874, the son of a tailor. The family moved to Nottingham, where Gillick was apprenticed as a d ...

and medallist

Mary Gillick Mary Gaskell Gillick ( Tutin; 1881 – 27 January 1965) was a sculptor and medallist, best known for her effigy of Elizabeth II used on coinage in the United Kingdom and elsewhere from 1953 to 1970. Personal life Born Mary Gaskell Tutin in Not ...

. Gillick has a special affection for the Flemish, Dutch and Spanish masters of the 17th century, in particular Velázquez and work in the ''

Bodegón The term ''bodega'' in Spanish can mean "pantry", "tavern", or "wine cellar". The derivative term ''bodegón'' is an augmentative that refers to a large ''bodega'', usually in a derogatory fashion. In Spanish art, a ''bodegón'' is a still life p ...

'' style. Using techniques from this era, Gillick claims to handcraft all the materials he uses within his studio; including

oil paint Oil paint is a type of slow-drying paint that consists of particles of pigment suspended in a drying oil, commonly linseed oil. The viscosity of the paint may be modified by the addition of a solvent such as turpentine or white spirit, and varn ...

s, waxes, glues, varnishes, canvases and stretchers. He uses a limited palette of six colors plus black and white, having prepared the oils from ground

pigments A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compou ...

. In 1998 he won a commission to paint

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

. The three-quarter length portrait was commissioned by the

University of Buckingham , mottoeng = Flying on Our Own Wings , established = 1973; as university college1983; as university , type = Private , endowment = , administrative_staff = 97 academic, 103 support , chanc ...

to commemorate her six years as the chancellor of Britain's only private university. Thatcher is recorded as having been delighted with her portrait and supposedly commented, ‘''Can I thank the artist for doing the impossible – a kind portrait of me in a way I would like to be remembered''.’ In 2005, a portrait of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

commissioned by The Bishop of Nottingham, the Rt Rev.

Malcolm McMahon Malcolm Patrick McMahon, OP, KC*HS (born 14 June 1949) is an English prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2014, he has been the ninth Archbishop of Liverpool. Previously, he was Bishop of Nottingham from 2000 to 2014. Early life an ...

, was completed. The portrait, as of 2009, hung in the Lady Chapel at St Barnabas' Cathedral in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, and an identical copy toured the country's parishes on request. Pope John Paul II

Gillick also completed various church restorations. This included the churches of St Gregory and

St Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...

in Summertown, Oxford. This work included new

reredos A reredos ( , , ) is a large altarpiece, a screen, or decoration placed behind the altar in a church. It often includes religious images. The term ''reredos'' may also be used for similar structures, if elaborate, in secular architecture, for ex ...

. Panels were painted featuring the patron saints St Augustine, St Gregory and the

Virgin and child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...

, plus a further ten panels in a type of

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

Exhibitions

Gillick's work has been consistently exhibited at Jonathan Cooper's Park Walk Gallery, London since 2000. It has been included in several mixed exhibitions including;

Royal Institute of Oil Painters The Royal Institute of Oil Painters, also known as ROI, is an association of painters in London, England, and is the only major art society which features work done only in oil. It is a member society of the Federation of British Artists. Histor ...

, Mall Galleries and the

Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissi ...

also at the Mall Galleries. His work has also been exhibited at various art fairs including; Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair, BADA British Antiques and Fine Art Fair and the London Art Fair. He is often included in the annual RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the CLA Game Fair and the Burghley Horse Trials.Stanford, 10-11

References

External links

*
James Gillick Official WebsiteJonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery
* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt6vSHMbkGM A short film of James Gillick at work in his studio spring 2009br>St Austin Review article 'Painting Light' January/February 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillick, James 1972 births Living people 20th-century English painters British identical twins English male painters 21st-century English painters 21st-century English male artists English contemporary artists British still life painters Catholic painters People from Norfolk 20th-century English male artists