Timeline

1934

Born in Tahoka/Texas

1959

Studies at the University of Texas

1962

Felix Landau – one of the most influential art dealers of the USA contracted Gill

1965

Guest artist to teach painting at the University of Idaho

1967

„Sao Paulo 9 - Environment USA“ The „Who is Who“ of Pop Art

1969

Guest artist to teach painting at the University of California in Irvine

1970

Guest artist to teach painting at the University of Oregon

1972

Self-imposed exile in California as a recapture of the art world

1979

Reclusive life in North California

1997

Start of a new phase of artwork

2005

Retrospective exhibition at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts

In the fifties and sixties a new school of artists emerged that added “Pop Art” to our lexicon. Among them was James Gill. Routinely exhibited alongside acclaimed artists such as Edward Hopper, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, James Gill experienced a rapid ascent in the art world; major museums such as New York’s Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum and the Smithsonian Institute added his works to their collections. Then, at the height of his success, he walked away – becoming a legend, an icon, in the Pop Art world.

Not wishing to further succumb to the “me” generation, Gill joined a small group of artists, poets and writers to form an artist’s colony on the California/Oregon border, far from the materialistic world. He continued to work and expand his artistic vision, taking the Pop Art practice of appropriating commercial photo-derived imagery as source material and applying the latest in technology to develop his current unique process. By running a raw canvas through an ink-jet printer he re-creates an image he then manipulates with a clear gel medium, applying it as one would paint with regular pigment, to draw the inks up into the gel, giving the same effect as colored acrylics – only with colors dramatically more vibrant than pre-colored medium. Gill can then paint or glaze over this piece until it thoroughly represents his artistic vision.

With iconic Pop Art imagery as well as bold collaged abstract imagery, James Gill is making his mark once again on the world of art. Major shows have been launched in several states celebrating the return of this legendary artist. James Gill is truly an artist rediscovered

Lives and works in San Angelo/TEXAS