ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings begin with a serious sense of play, both in the staging and the creating of the compositions. It is at this beginning stage that I operate under the Dadaist dictate that “anything can be art”, and at the same time I seek out a balanced and harmonious composition by way of line, shape, and color. I work according to my whimsy, sometimes seeking to assert some form of narrative however personal or ambiguous, and other times I am simply satisfied with the hint of a human presence.
Once I have my compositions the paintings then very quickly become about work, a very labor intensive work that forces me to focus my mind and slow things down (which I feel is relevant especially in this day and age of high-speed everything). A great amount of effort is spent on trying to get to the highest level of finish that is possible according to my current skill level.
For inspiration I have drawn from the past four centuries of object specific paintings, from the ontbijtjes (laid tables) of the 17th Century Dutch masters such as Willem Kalf, Jan Davidsz de Heem, Abraham van Beijeren, Peiter Claus Heda and Willem Claesz Heda, to the kitchen settings of Chardon, as well as the still life’s of Cézanne, and the Nature Morte paintings of Morandi, also some of the intensely skillful hyperrealist and trompe l’oeil painters working today.
My paintings begin with a serious sense of play, both in the staging and the creating of the compositions. It is at this beginning stage that I operate under the Dadaist dictate that “anything can be art”, and at the same time I seek out a balanced and harmonious composition by way of line, shape, and color. I work according to my whimsy, sometimes seeking to assert some form of narrative however personal or ambiguous, and other times I am simply satisfied with the hint of a human presence.
Once I have my compositions the paintings then very quickly become about work, a very labor intensive work that forces me to focus my mind and slow things down (which I feel is relevant especially in this day and age of high-speed everything). A great amount of effort is spent on trying to get to the highest level of finish that is possible according to my current skill level.
For inspiration I have drawn from the past four centuries of object specific paintings, from the ontbijtjes (laid tables) of the 17th Century Dutch masters such as Willem Kalf, Jan Davidsz de Heem, Abraham van Beijeren, Peiter Claus Heda and Willem Claesz Heda, to the kitchen settings of Chardon, as well as the still life’s of Cézanne, and the Nature Morte paintings of Morandi, also some of the intensely skillful hyperrealist and trompe l’oeil painters working today.
RESUME
BORN
New London, CT
EDUCATION
1995-2005 Art Students League, New York, NY
2003-2004 The National Academy, New York, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2022 Billis Williams Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Show)
2020 George Billis, New York, NY
2019 Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, a Selection of SmallWorks, curated by Susan Meisel
2018 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Show)
2016 George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Juno Gallery, New York, NY (Group Show)
2015 Tyndall Galleries, Chapell Hill, NC (Solo Show)
2015 George Billis, New York, NY (Group Show)
2015 Tyndall Galleries, Chapel Hill , NC (Group Show)
2014 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Show)
2014 Essex Gallery, Essex, CT (Solo Show)
2012 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Show)
2012 George Billis Gallery, New York, NY (Group Show)
2012 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Show)
2012 Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown MD, THE PAINTED IMAGE, curated by Jennifer Chapman Smith
2012 Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC, 12 CONTEMPORARY STILL LIFE
2012 ARTISTS, curators: Dr. Henry Fagen, Jim Creal
2012 Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY, Juried Art Exhibition, Jurors: Bartholomew Bland, Rachel Lawe
2011 Red Dot New York, George Billis Gallery LA (Group Show)
2011 Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA (Group Show)
2011 Art Chicago, George Billis Gallery, Chicago, IL (Group show)
2011 Red Dot Miami, George Billis Gallery, Miami, FL (Group Show)
2010 George Billis Gallery, New York, NY (Solo Show)
2010 Art Chicago, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY (Group Show)
2010 Butler Institute Of American Art 74th MID-YEAR EXHIBITION, Youngstown, Ohio, Juried by: Ronnie Landfield
2010 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Show)
2010 Red Dot Miami, George Billis Gallery (Group Show)
2009 Artslant, juried showcase winner
2009 Affordable Art Fair, NY, represented by The Art Students League, New York
2008 Franklin 54 Gallery, A TAKE ON TRADITION, group show, New York, NY. Curator Jennifer Groves
2006 Allied Arts Of America, INC 93rd Annual Exhibition at the National Arts Club, New York. Juried by Fred Staloff, Richard A. Botto, and Robert Palevitz
2006 Audubon Artist, INC., 64th Annual Juried Exhibition, Juried by: Eric Michalson
2006 Cork Gallery, New York, NY, Grant Exhibition
2005 San Diego Art Institute, Museum of the Living Artist, 48th Annual International Exhibition, Juried by: Derick Cartwright
2005 The National Arts Club, 29th Annual Student Exhibition. Special selection
2004 The Allied Arts Of America, INC. 91st Annual Exhibition at the National Arts Club, New York. Juried by: Raelul Carranza, Michael Molner, and Shoichi Akutsu
2004 Works by Members of the Arts Students League of New York at the Arts Students League of New York, Juried by: Frann Bradford, Maxwell Davidson, and David Findlay
2004 Organization Of Independent Artist 3rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Gallery 402, New York, NY
AWARDS AND HONORS
2005 O. Alden James Award, National Arts Club 29th Annual Student Exhibition
2004 The John Young-Hunter Memorial Award, Allied Artist of America, INC 91t Annual Show, Juried by Raelul Carranza, Michael Molner, and Shoichi Akutsu
2004 Fantasy Fountain Fund’s Summer Study Scholarship at the Marchutz School of Painting, Aix-en Provance, France
2004 Louis Le Beaume Scholarship for Painting, National Academy
PRESS
2020 American Art Collector, June; John O’Hern “Playing With Nature’s Forms”
2016 American Art Collector, November; “Building associations”
2015 American Art Collector, September; “Parade of Color”
2012 American Art Collector, November; Joshua Rose, “String Theory”
2011 American Artist Magazine, February; Ephraim Rubenstein, “Finding Beauty By Embracing The Ephemeral”
2010 American Art Collector, March; Joshua Rose, “Ontology”
New London, CT
EDUCATION
1995-2005 Art Students League, New York, NY
2003-2004 The National Academy, New York, NY
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2022 Billis Williams Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Show)
2020 George Billis, New York, NY
2019 Louis K. Meisel Gallery, New York, NY, FOOD FOR THOUGHT, a Selection of SmallWorks, curated by Susan Meisel
2018 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Show)
2016 George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2015 Juno Gallery, New York, NY (Group Show)
2015 Tyndall Galleries, Chapell Hill, NC (Solo Show)
2015 George Billis, New York, NY (Group Show)
2015 Tyndall Galleries, Chapel Hill , NC (Group Show)
2014 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Show)
2014 Essex Gallery, Essex, CT (Solo Show)
2012 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Solo Show)
2012 George Billis Gallery, New York, NY (Group Show)
2012 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Show)
2012 Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown MD, THE PAINTED IMAGE, curated by Jennifer Chapman Smith
2012 Spartanburg Art Museum, Spartanburg, SC, 12 CONTEMPORARY STILL LIFE
2012 ARTISTS, curators: Dr. Henry Fagen, Jim Creal
2012 Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY, Juried Art Exhibition, Jurors: Bartholomew Bland, Rachel Lawe
2011 Red Dot New York, George Billis Gallery LA (Group Show)
2011 Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA (Group Show)
2011 Art Chicago, George Billis Gallery, Chicago, IL (Group show)
2011 Red Dot Miami, George Billis Gallery, Miami, FL (Group Show)
2010 George Billis Gallery, New York, NY (Solo Show)
2010 Art Chicago, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY (Group Show)
2010 Butler Institute Of American Art 74th MID-YEAR EXHIBITION, Youngstown, Ohio, Juried by: Ronnie Landfield
2010 George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (Group Show)
2010 Red Dot Miami, George Billis Gallery (Group Show)
2009 Artslant, juried showcase winner
2009 Affordable Art Fair, NY, represented by The Art Students League, New York
2008 Franklin 54 Gallery, A TAKE ON TRADITION, group show, New York, NY. Curator Jennifer Groves
2006 Allied Arts Of America, INC 93rd Annual Exhibition at the National Arts Club, New York. Juried by Fred Staloff, Richard A. Botto, and Robert Palevitz
2006 Audubon Artist, INC., 64th Annual Juried Exhibition, Juried by: Eric Michalson
2006 Cork Gallery, New York, NY, Grant Exhibition
2005 San Diego Art Institute, Museum of the Living Artist, 48th Annual International Exhibition, Juried by: Derick Cartwright
2005 The National Arts Club, 29th Annual Student Exhibition. Special selection
2004 The Allied Arts Of America, INC. 91st Annual Exhibition at the National Arts Club, New York. Juried by: Raelul Carranza, Michael Molner, and Shoichi Akutsu
2004 Works by Members of the Arts Students League of New York at the Arts Students League of New York, Juried by: Frann Bradford, Maxwell Davidson, and David Findlay
2004 Organization Of Independent Artist 3rd Annual Juried Exhibition, Gallery 402, New York, NY
AWARDS AND HONORS
2005 O. Alden James Award, National Arts Club 29th Annual Student Exhibition
2004 The John Young-Hunter Memorial Award, Allied Artist of America, INC 91t Annual Show, Juried by Raelul Carranza, Michael Molner, and Shoichi Akutsu
2004 Fantasy Fountain Fund’s Summer Study Scholarship at the Marchutz School of Painting, Aix-en Provance, France
2004 Louis Le Beaume Scholarship for Painting, National Academy
PRESS
2020 American Art Collector, June; John O’Hern “Playing With Nature’s Forms”
2016 American Art Collector, November; “Building associations”
2015 American Art Collector, September; “Parade of Color”
2012 American Art Collector, November; Joshua Rose, “String Theory”
2011 American Artist Magazine, February; Ephraim Rubenstein, “Finding Beauty By Embracing The Ephemeral”
2010 American Art Collector, March; Joshua Rose, “Ontology”