The Artist
The Artist in Gore oil on canvas
Philip Kilmore
Philip is a photorealist painter living in Northland, New Zealand. Using the abstract structures of colour, composition and form he creates a sense of drama and balance in his highly detailed, hyper-realist works.
Philip's works are characterised by his technique, attention to detail and choice of subject matter and perspective. His paintings create a sense of intimacy with the viewer - this ability to enter into the paintings is often commented on. To be engrossed by them evokes a feeling of timelessness and tranquility, of the world standing still. Through his paintings, Philip celebrates the ordinary, using the landscape and simple everyday subjects as metaphors for our place in the world. The fully rendered realism of Philip's work allows him to emphasise the particular and the unique in nature. "I want to pay homage to the complexities of nature and the differences and distinctions, and realism allows me to do this."
The vibrant and rich floral works are larger than life, creating a glorious portrayal of his treasured hydrangeas, capturing their perfection, flaws and blemishes in detailed, radiant works. Philip's favourite painters the Pre-Raphaelites called their models their "stunners" and these often overlooked and neglected flowers are his.
The still life works are another of Philip's favourite painting subjects, and as challenging as the hydrangea works. The distortions and reflections created by the glass bottles give the paintings mystery and complexity. The intense colour and cropped composition of the flowers give the paintings an intensity and presence that captivates and holds the viewer in an intimate and yet familiar setting.
The landscapes capture the inherent beauty in our everyday environment and reflect an almost spiritual quality in the shape and form of the landscape. Not content to replicate the majestic and obvious, his works celebrate the ordinary by focusing on the variations and subtleties in his subjects, allowing the viewer to become lost in the often overlooked complexities of a familiar object or scene.
"When I'm working on a picture I'm always thinking about what I'm going to paint the next day, next week, next month. I've got so many ideas floating around in my head, I'll never run out of them. People often comment that I must have incredible patience, but it's not patience, it's a determination and commitment to fully realise my ideas and to faithfully depict the beauty that nature creates. I enjoy the challenge of exploring new ways to portray a subject within the realist genre and despite the frustration and occasional monotony I can't imagine not painting - the excitement, the challenge, and the uncertainty that comes with every painting is what drives me and will drive me as long as I am able to hold a brush."
CV
Awards:
1980 Montana Wines Art Award - merit & viewer's choice
1981 Montana Wines Art Award - merit, viewer's choice & sponsor's choice
1987 BRL Art Award - highly commended
Exhibitions:
1986 Solo exhibition Dawson's Gallery Rotorua
1987 Solo exhibition Harrison's Gallery Tauranga
1979-1988 Works exhibited at:
Whitecliffe Gallery Auckland
Downtown Hilton Gallery Auckland
Dowse Gallery Wellington
Dawson's Gallery Rotorua
Harrison's Gallery Tauranga
Gisborne Art Gallery & Museum Gisborne
2001 Group exhibition Landforms Arts Desire Warkworth
2002 Solo exhibition North Land Arts Desire Warkworth
2003 Commenced painting full-time
Group exhibition A Sense of Place Arts Desire Warkworth
Solo exhibition Coast to Coast Arts Desire Warkworth
Commission for The Friends of the Mahurangi for 150th Warkworth anniversary
2004
Exhibition Rural Decompositions Arts Desire Warkworth
2005
Group exhibition Fishers Fine Arts Auckland
Group exhibition Realism, Impressions & Hope Fishers Fine Arts Wellington
Exhibition Preserving the Past Arts Desire Warkworth
Two works published in Wrinkly Tin: A History of Corrugated Iron in New Zealand
2006
Exhibition The Small Exhibition Arts Desire Warkworth
Works in Art for the Kaipara charity auction
Exhibition Fractured Images Arts Desire Warkworth
Included in New Zealand's Favourite Artists by Saint Publishing
2007
Sole painting in Gala Charity Auction for Chris Cairns Foundation Launch
Exhibition Fringe Dwellers Remuera Gallery Auckland
Exhibition Reality Check Bank Street Gallery Whangarei
Sole painting in Allen's Charity Auction for the Whangarei Hospice
Group Exhibition Summer Catalogue Warwick Henderson Gallery Parnell Auckland
2008
Group exhibition Falling Leaves Aesthete Gallery Hamilton
Group exhibition Autumn Catalogue Warwick Henderson Gallery Auckland
Exhibition Near and Far Bank Street Gallery Whangarei
Group exhibition Summer Catalogue Warwick Henderson Gallery Auckland
2009
Group Exhibition Real and Unreal: An Exhibition of NZ Surrealists Warwick Henderson Gallery Auckland
Exhibition Ever Closer Matakana Gallery Matakana
Auckland Art Fair Viaduct Basin Auckland
2010
Exhibition Dichotomy Art Matakana Matakana
Exhibition Pick of the Bunch Remuera Gallery Auckland
Group Exhibition The Earl Street Journal Milford Galleries Queenstown
2011
Group ExhibitionThe Review Milford Galleries Queenstown
Artists' Impressions of NZ Book Launch Exhibition Art Matakana Matakana
Included in Artists' Impressions of NZ by Saint Publishing
Group Exhibition 4 Real Aesthete Gallery Hamilton
Group Exhibition The Earl Street Journal Milford Galleries Queenstown
2012
Group Exhibition The Review Milford Galleries Queenstown
Group Exhibition Spring Catalogue Milford Galleries Queenstown
Group Exhibition The Earl Street Journal Milford Galleries Queenstown
2013
Group Exhibition The Royal Queenstown Easter Show, Milford Galleries Queenstown
Group Exhibition A Take on Reality Aesthete Gallery Hamilton
2014
Group Exhibition Altered Perspectives Aesthete Gallery Hamilton
Exhibition Up North The Gallery Helena Bay Northland
2017
Purchased Burning Issues Gallery Whangarei and had break from painting while refreshing and renovating gallery.