Visitation

About the Exhibition

This work is the second of three series containing imagery and applications that transit between painting as fine art and the publishing tool of illustration. I Have always been fascinated with the way commercial interests and reproduction processes curate and represent visuals, contrasted by the hand crafted and singular vision found in painting.

This work is the product of a trip to China in the spring of 2019.

It is almost impossible to ignore the influence of exotic experiences when traveling. I try to channel the effect the place has on me while documenting as much as I can through photography, minimizing, but not dismissing the aspect of the holiday snapshot. 

Being exposed to population densities I had never before witnessed proved to be the pivotal experience of the trip. To move through a site like the Forbidden City on a hot afternoon in the company of 70,000 other individuals proved to be an overwhelming and inspiring experience.  

The imagery in these paintings takes that vast human element and deposits it into invented open landscape scenarios. These landscape backdrops serve as stages for the figurative pageant to play out on and create five individual narratives.  

Meet the artist at the opening reception on Saturday February 28 from 1PM - 3PM. The exhibit will run from February 24 – March 7, 2026.

About the Artist

Jeff Willmore was born in 1954. A design school drop-out who drifted into art school on the rebound, he graduated in 1980 with a diploma of Fine Art from Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. Today he is a senior artist whose work navigates a snarl of contemporary representational practices. His practice has established a strong regional profile that continues to find a place within an expanding community of acceptance. His work can be found in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, Western University and Museum London among others. He was awarded the RBC Canadian Painting Competition prize as runner-up in 1999 and has served on granting juries for the Ontario Arts Council.

For more about the artist visit his website or follow him on instagram.

Featured image: detail Impact, 2020, acrylic on mylar, 36x120 inches