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artists

Jo Wilmot

Forest : 2009 : Oil on linen : 180 x 165cm : £2,200

Artists statement

I’m interested in the way shiny newness becomes tarnished, in how fast a longed for item or experience switches from desirable to banal.

We live in a culture of glossy images, objects and items and we are led to believe that the next purchase or cocktail will make us complete. The cycle of mindless consumerism relies on our belief that ‘new’ is always better.

My paintings explore the way in which we define ourselves through consumption and the easy, empty seductiveness of consumer culture – it’s all about surface, being seen at the ‘right’ places, desirably dressed, looking gorgeous and glossy with gleaming white teeth. But life is messier than films and advertising and however much we pursue this illusion, it inevitably falls short. We all have some memory of the disapointment we felt when we couldn’t open the window in the five star hotel and the sadness when we scuffed our expensive new shoes. That feeling of slight emptiness, claustrophobia and frustration is what I am aiming to achieve in my work.

Although people are not physically in the paintings, their presence is very much felt – the objects and places depicted operate as signifiers – we all possess a stereotypical idea about the individuals who drive Porsches or leave their knickers in a bush. The absence of people gives a sense of stalled narrative, what happened and what’s next?

Born 1975, Birmingham, UK

EDUCATION

MA Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London 2003-5

BA(hons) Fine Art, Central St Martins, College of Art & Design 1994-7

Two Person Shows:

2009: This is not an Exit, Gallery 33, Berlin, Germany

2008: Men and Motors, Studio 1.1, London

2007: Spit Roast, Gallery 33, Berlin, Germany

Selected Group Shows:

2010:

Bright Lights - London Painting, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilburg, The Netherlands

Intermezzo, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilburg, The Netherlands

DETOX *, Hoxton Square, London (Curated with Kristen Lovelock, as Concrete Allotment Projects)

2009:

Souvenirs * Centro Cultural Matadero, Huesca, Spain, (Curated by Jorge Martin Vila)

Exhibit 1, temporarycontemporary, The Old Police Station, London

Somewhere, Elevator Gallery, London

2008:

30th Anniversary Show, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilberg, the Netherlands

Awopbopaloobop, Transition, London

Start Your Collection, Contemporary Art Projects, London

Summer Accrochage, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilberg, the Netherlands

Altered States, Francis Lewis Gallery, New York (Curated by Darren Jones)

The Painting Room, Transition, London

2007:

Summer Accrochage, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilberg, the Netherlands

Arboreal, Transition, London, (Curated by Tobi Deeson)

Intersection II*, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilberg, the Netherlands

2006:

Intersection*, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, Tilberg, Netherlands (Curated by Ton Von Kempen)*

Beauty and the Beast, Fieldgate Gallery, London (Curated by Richard Livingston and Laura White)

Concrete Allotment, Temporary Contemporary, London (Curated by Kristen Lovelock) *

Domesticity, Bournemouth(Curated by Jon Chalmers)*

2005:

Young Gods 3, Clapham Art Gallery, London

Fuck Art Let’s Paint, Transition, London

Eng-er-land, Gallery 102, Tea Building, London (Curated by Cathy Lomax)

2004:

Attack on Precinct Deborah, Deborah House, London

Press/Publications:

Metro, ‘Eng-er-land’ August 10th 2005

bbc.co.uk/dna/collective ‘Tabloid Tales’ August 11th 2005

bbc.co.uk/dna/collective ‘Concrete Allotment’ April 2006

Flux ‘ Preview’ Concrete Allotment April 2006

Intersection, Resy Muijsers Contemporary Art, 2007

Transition Tradition.com ,’The Painting Room’, February 2008

Kultureflash 253, ‘Deborah Gough and Jo Wilmot’ July 2008

Writings:

Garageland, ‘Game, Set, Match’ Issue 4, 2007

Garageland, ‘Charm Offensive’ Issue 2, 2006

Collections:

Cohn & Wolfe, collection Fontys Hogescholen, Private collections USA, UK, The Netherlands, Germany