Gillian Wainwright

Gillian Wainwright is a painter currently living and working in New Jersey, with representation at Lancaster Galleries in Pennsylvania. Wainwright earned her BFA at the California College of Arts and Crafts, where the Bay Area Figurative School had a strong impact on her. She later studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago—particularly with renowned painter Dan Gustin—and graduated with an MFA in Painting. She also spent a year living and studying art in Florence and traveling throughout Italy.

Wainwright has taught painting at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago as well as at Robert Morris College and Kingsborough College. She has had several solo shows, including most recently at Lancaster Galleries, and has participated in multiple group shows in the Tri-State area and across the United States. Her work is included in several private collections.


Artist Statement

I have always loved to work from life, particularly outdoors, where the changes in light, weather, and season provide endless variety. Almost invariably, the chase to capture something of that particular moment fuels an urgency that helps the paintings.

During the pandemic, I retreated into my home, as painting outside in the city landscape did not feel safe. I became obsessed with making my small urban backyard into a truly lush garden, and this in turn became my new subject.

I have now been painting exclusively in this small outdoor space for just over four years, and the paintings have transformed from more literal depictions into a looser accumulation of marks and color and gesture. For me, it is an investigation into my perception, an absolute delight in the paint, and a way of connecting very deeply with that great wide world out there in the microcosm of my little plot.


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