GILLIAN KING
King attempts to connect ancient art practices and our changing geographical landscapes as a way to address our collective histories, mutual fragility, and mortality with other living beings and the Earth. She draws from elements of ecology, palaeontology, politics, and earth-based spirituality, making use of specific materials (including plant and vegetable matter, hair, rust, sand, dirt, and raw pigments) for their physical properties and symbolic relevance.
King was born in Winnipeg (MB ) and holds an MFA from the University of Ottawa. She is the recipient of the 2019 Esponceda Centre for Arts and Culture Artistic Prize (Barcelona, Spain), the 2017 RBC Emerging Artist Award, as well as the recipient of the 2017 Nancy Petry Award. King has shown in galleries nationally and internationally and has completed residencies at NES Artist Residency (Skagaströnd, Iceland), The Banff Centre, Artscape Gibralter and Sparkbox Studios. In 2016, she exhibited a solo show, ‘Becoming Animal’, at the Ottawa Art Gallery and in 2017 was chosen as the Ontario representative in the Robert McLaughlin Gallery’s 50th Anniversary Exhibition, ‘Ab NEXT’ featuring five emerging abstract painters from across Canada. King’s work was recently featured in Border Crossings Magazine and CBC Gem’s ‘The Art in Nature: Gathering’ by Montreal-based filmmaker Nicholas Castle. Forthcominbg exhibitions include; Casa Pixan (Mexico City, Mx) in February, and a solo exhibition at the Ottawa Art Gallery Annexe in June 2020. Gillian King lives and works in Ottawa.
Gillian King, Cecropia, 2019, Acrylic, rust sediments, and various plant materials on canvas, 72” x 60”
image courtesy of the artist and Galerie Nicolas Robert
Recent Exhibition:
Fossil Record
January 18 - February 22, 2020
Curated by Tatum Dooley
Fossil Record presents work by four artists whose practices veer into the three dimensional: by layering material and carving into the surface, the works become embedded with life. Featuring work by Fiona Freemark, Gillian King, Margaux Smith, and Stanzie Tooth.
