Gillian Willans, "4:33pm The Odalisque”
$2735. Oil on Canvas, 36”x36”, 2021.
Price does not include shipping. Contact info@collarworks.org for a shipping estimate.
Artist statement
My work is painted from found photographs collected from internet sites like MLS listings, various archives, kijiji ads, and crime scene documentation. All of my photographic sources are utilitarian and function as a mediated tool for another purpose, and I am particularly drawn to images that would be considered unpicturesque. The photos are a mixture of current and historical (within my life span) and some are even infamous, absorbed into our collective memories. I edit the scenes, removing the contextual information, focusing instead on the depiction of light and mood in the scene. My painted descriptions aim to expose the way people (specifically within a realm of western middle class) live imperfectly behind closed doors. I am interested in suggesting the value systems, socio-economic power dynamics, and inequities found in gender, family, privacy, and intimacy, while encouraging the viewer to think about the domestic spaces relevant to their daily life.
Artist bio
Willans creates paintings of domestic interiors that reflect her personal history and research into the history of genre painting. Sourced from found photographs, Willans is deeply interested in the emotive potential of light and colour. Somewhere between forensic inventories and theatrical stage sets, the imagery is both nostalgic and critical, steeped in questions of gender and social structures. Willans completed her MFA in painting from the University of Alberta in 2008 and has exhibited in both public and commercial galleries. Willans has been the recipient of numerous grants including the Alberta Foundation for the Visual Arts Project Grant, and The Edmonton Arts Council Travel Grant and was the recipient of the 2018 Eldon and Anne Foote Visual Arts Prize. Along with being the mother of 3 young children, Gillian Willans teaches painting and drawing at the University of Alberta and MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she resides.
$2735. Oil on Canvas, 36”x36”, 2021.
Price does not include shipping. Contact info@collarworks.org for a shipping estimate.
Artist statement
My work is painted from found photographs collected from internet sites like MLS listings, various archives, kijiji ads, and crime scene documentation. All of my photographic sources are utilitarian and function as a mediated tool for another purpose, and I am particularly drawn to images that would be considered unpicturesque. The photos are a mixture of current and historical (within my life span) and some are even infamous, absorbed into our collective memories. I edit the scenes, removing the contextual information, focusing instead on the depiction of light and mood in the scene. My painted descriptions aim to expose the way people (specifically within a realm of western middle class) live imperfectly behind closed doors. I am interested in suggesting the value systems, socio-economic power dynamics, and inequities found in gender, family, privacy, and intimacy, while encouraging the viewer to think about the domestic spaces relevant to their daily life.
Artist bio
Willans creates paintings of domestic interiors that reflect her personal history and research into the history of genre painting. Sourced from found photographs, Willans is deeply interested in the emotive potential of light and colour. Somewhere between forensic inventories and theatrical stage sets, the imagery is both nostalgic and critical, steeped in questions of gender and social structures. Willans completed her MFA in painting from the University of Alberta in 2008 and has exhibited in both public and commercial galleries. Willans has been the recipient of numerous grants including the Alberta Foundation for the Visual Arts Project Grant, and The Edmonton Arts Council Travel Grant and was the recipient of the 2018 Eldon and Anne Foote Visual Arts Prize. Along with being the mother of 3 young children, Gillian Willans teaches painting and drawing at the University of Alberta and MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she resides.
$2735. Oil on Canvas, 36”x36”, 2021.
Price does not include shipping. Contact info@collarworks.org for a shipping estimate.
Artist statement
My work is painted from found photographs collected from internet sites like MLS listings, various archives, kijiji ads, and crime scene documentation. All of my photographic sources are utilitarian and function as a mediated tool for another purpose, and I am particularly drawn to images that would be considered unpicturesque. The photos are a mixture of current and historical (within my life span) and some are even infamous, absorbed into our collective memories. I edit the scenes, removing the contextual information, focusing instead on the depiction of light and mood in the scene. My painted descriptions aim to expose the way people (specifically within a realm of western middle class) live imperfectly behind closed doors. I am interested in suggesting the value systems, socio-economic power dynamics, and inequities found in gender, family, privacy, and intimacy, while encouraging the viewer to think about the domestic spaces relevant to their daily life.
Artist bio
Willans creates paintings of domestic interiors that reflect her personal history and research into the history of genre painting. Sourced from found photographs, Willans is deeply interested in the emotive potential of light and colour. Somewhere between forensic inventories and theatrical stage sets, the imagery is both nostalgic and critical, steeped in questions of gender and social structures. Willans completed her MFA in painting from the University of Alberta in 2008 and has exhibited in both public and commercial galleries. Willans has been the recipient of numerous grants including the Alberta Foundation for the Visual Arts Project Grant, and The Edmonton Arts Council Travel Grant and was the recipient of the 2018 Eldon and Anne Foote Visual Arts Prize. Along with being the mother of 3 young children, Gillian Willans teaches painting and drawing at the University of Alberta and MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada where she resides.