Gill Ord / UK
title: Terminus 75 × 90 cm Gill Ord / medium: oil on canvas
Gill Ord
A British artist from Middlesbrough in the North East of England, Gill Ord is now based in London, where she has worked in the same studio for over thirty years.
title: Harlequin on Sacramento 120 × 180 cm Gill Ord / medium: oil on canvas
Ord’s work is shaped by time spent observing and responding to place. Informed by residencies and artist-led workshops; site-specific observations form the foundation of her practice.Ord gathers material and ideas through engagement with each location, responding to found colour, architecture, landscape, weather and atmosphere. Observant of conversations, tensions, and the politics that define each place Ord gains a developing awareness of past histories and the specificity of place.
title: Brenner 120 × 180 cm Gill Ord / medium: oil on canvas
On the return to her studio in Bow, London, these works of reconnaissance provide fuel to be worked through. In a process of repetition and distillation, these works evolve slowly, reworked into pieces that hold an essence of their original context, releasing the specificity of reference to become vessels for broader ideas. Colour comes to the fore as does an awareness of the body, movement and the breath. In this way, Ord moves between being the gregarious, outward-looking gatherer of information and time of solitude and focus in the studio.
title: (left) Torcer 135 × 180 cm (right) Terminus 75 × 90 cm / medium: oil on canvas
A founder of the Braziers International Artists’ Workshop, Ord is a strong advocate for collegiality and collaboration between artists. The sharing of knowledge, engagement in critical dialogue and the establishment of spaces of mutual support are key to her approach as an artist and cultural instigator. Her worldview has been shaped by decades of exchange with fellow artists around the globe, reinforcing her belief in art as a tool for cultural and social understanding.
title: (left) Oceans 120 × 180 cm (right) Harlequin on Sacramento 120 × 180 cm / medium: oil on canvas
For Ord, the studio is a private space, a crucible for silent focus, experimentation and resolution, where gathered experiences are sifted and new possibilities emerge.
title: Souvenir 75 × 90 cm / medium: oil on canvas
