Nicola Wiltshire
Degree: MFA Art and Humanties
University: University of Dundee
Graduation Year: 2015
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Read more about Nicola's studio practice.
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Solo show at Paul Smith
Little Van Gogh Residency
Nicola Wiltshire’s paintings hold absorbingly bold forms, which immediately capture the viewers’ attention. She was listed as an artist to watch in The Guardian, has held 4 solo exhibitions, a number of group shows, received the Pittenweem Art Festival’s Bursary Award and a six-month Artist Residency at Halley Stevensons, who manufacture waxed cotton for clients such as Barbour from their Dundee factory. More recently, Nicola was selected as one of twelve artists to take part in a public art project in Dundee's West End, as well as being an invited artist for the Reformation Street Art Project, also in Dundee (both part of the city-wide regeneration following the opening of the V&A Design Museum). Her largest series of 2018, a collection of still lifes, has been particularly successful at capturing the tactile qualities of the fabric she paints on - her trademark style - in these paintings, fabrics such as Toile de Jouy, patterned linen and William Morris-inspired prints become decorative vases for high-pigment representations of house plants and seasonal wildflowers. These paintings, along with her portraits and landscapes, have attracted a loyal collector base; many of whom own more than one of these paintings in their collection. She continues to paint with integrity - using high quality oil paints, many that she makes by hand in her studio and is beginning to explore other traditional processes such as handmaking pastel crayons.
Artist Statement
I am a painter, creating work that is deeply influenced by art history and traditional approaches to oil painting. Each of my paintings are thoughtful explorations of composition, subject, colour theory and/or surface.
Visually, my work is bold and aims to achieve a balance between simplification and representation, inspired by artists such as Henri Matisse, Edward Munch and Paul Gauguin. Pattern is an important tool I use to create rhythm and atmosphere, achieved by both painted lines and the patterned fabric I paint on.
I work towards a luminous quality to my colours, which is impossible without handmade paint. My saturated colour is the result of high-pigment, handmade oil paints. These paints are either created myself by grinding linseed oil, beeswax and loose pigments with a muller, following the same technique used by painters’ assistants for centuries, or by companies who share these values (Michael Harding/Williamsburg). I’ve learned a lot about colour mixing from early 20th Century books, but also work intuitively.
One of the most recognisable features of my work is that I paint on fabric instead of canvas/linen. The finished painting becomes almost sculptural - with patterned sides and a surface texture that both absorbs and reflects the light. I am also interested in how the domesticity of textiles plays a role in the story of the painting.
Solo Exhibitions
(2023) Midnight Oil, Paul Smith, London
(2021) Flickering Lights, Trickling Dream, The Jam Factory, Oxford
(2019) The Other Art Fair, Kings Cross, London
(2018) The Loom Runs. The Smoke Rises, The Meffan Gallery, Forfar, Scotland
(2017) A Beacon In Darkness, Alien Hole Gallery, Inverness, Scotland
(2017) The Loom Runs. The Smoke Rises, Verdant Works, Dundee, Scotland
(2017) Liberty Landscapes, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife, Scotland
(2016) Dundee Icons, Roseangle Gallery, Dundee, Scotland
(2016) Contemporary Icons, Hartlepool Art Gallery, Durham, England
(2015) Dundee Icons, Duncan Of Jordanstone College Of Art And Design, Dundee, Scotland
Group Exhibitions
(2023) Members' Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
(2022) Winter Exhibition, Select Gallery, London
(2022) NORTH, Visual Arts Scotland, Inverness
(2021) Members' Show, Generator Projects, Dundee
(2021) In The Flesh, Dock Street Studios, Dundee
(2021) Summer Series 5, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
(2021) SURGE, Tatha Gallery, Fife
(2020) On The Table, Curated by Julie-Ann Simpson, Online
(2020) Winter Exhibition, Select Gallery, London
(2020) F L O W, Visual Arts Scotland, Online
(2019) The Secret Garden, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife
(2019) Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh
(2019) Alight, Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2018) Current, Tatha Gallery, Newport-on-Tay, Scotland
(2018) The Net Loft, Pittenweem Arts Festival, Fife, Scotland
(2018) Fractured 2, Studio 11, Dundee, Scotland
(2017) Winter Exhibition, The Meffan Gallery, Forfar, Scotland
(2016) Winter Exhibition, Gallery Heinzel, Aberdeen, Scotland
(2016) Mixed Exhibition, Dundas Street Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Tighnabruaich Art Gallery, Edinburgh Art Fair, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) VAU Members' Show, St Margaret's House, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Mandala, Image Collective, Edinburgh, Scotland
(2016) Identity Through Landscape, House For An Art Lover, Glasgow, Scotland
(2016) Stuffed Gallery, Newave Art Gallery, Aberdeen, Scotland
(2016) Where Our Minds Are Now, Tin Roof, Dundee, Scotland
(2016) Folk Art, Folk Cafe Gallery, Dundee, Scotland
(2015) This Must Be The Place, Meadow Mill, Dundee, Scotland
(2015) Liverpool Art Fair, Pier Head Village, Liverpool, England
(2014) Saudades, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2014) Language/Lingua, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2014) Time/Tempo, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2014) Line/Linha, CCOB, Barcelos, Portugal
(2012) New Rad, Radcliffe and Newlands Ltd, London, England
(2011) Responsive Eye, London Gallery West, London, England
(2010) Luxury Goods: The Role Of Art, The Courtyard Theatre, London, England
(2009) Polyglot, Ambika P3, London, England
(2009) Icons, London Gallery West, London, England
(2008) News From Nowhere, London Gallery West, London, England
(2008) LaLaLa Exhibition, 491 Gallery, London, England
Competitions, Prizes & Awards
(2010) Juliet Gomperts Trust Award
(2014) Leonardo Da Vinci Project Scholarship
(2015) Thomas And Margaret Roddan Trust Award
(2015) Dundee Visual Artists + Craft Makers Award
(2017) The Meffan Gallery Purchase Prize Commendation
(2017) Pittenweem Art Festival Bursary Award