Jonathan Cooper Park Walk Gallery is delighted to be celebrating fifteen years of partnership with still life painter James Gillick, who is also enjoying his twentieth year as a practising artist. This anniversary will be marked by a retrospective of nineteen works spanning James’s career, generously loaned for the duration of the show, while 2015 will be represented by a selling exhibition of new paintings. James Gillick: Solo & Retrospective will be an unprecedented and unmissable opportunity to enjoy the full arc of this superlative artist’s oeuvre.
A modern master of the still life genre, James’ work ‘belongs to ‘the distinguished genealogy of William Nicholson, Morandi, & Fantin-Latour [reaching] back to Luis Meléndez and beyond’ (Gabriele Finaldi, National Gallery). Using a restricted palette, his intimate and atmospheric paintings are imbued with a quiet stillness, capturing the delicate play of light upon silver, and the vibrant blush of ripe fruit. Painted in natural light, his meditative scenes commemorate the simplicity of beauty.
The thought dedicated to the balance of his composition is matched by the care with which he prepares his materials. In a practise dating back to the eighteenth century, James handcrafts every element of his paintings, from stretcher to varnish. Using only the purest pigments in his oils, he ensures their quality and longevity.