Jo C Willems

Jo C Willems
My work is about language. I use landscape imagery because it is comfortable and welcoming to the viewer. I use the elements of an image to draw the viewer through a visual experience. My sense of visual language comes from much study of how we communicate. Every culture develops language and that language constantly evolves. As an artist I reach for ways to express my times and work towards offering insight into the goodness of now, for there is much to celebrate.
Born acutely nearsighted, I only saw planes of colour until I received a pair of glasses at the age of four. That experience of seeing detail for the first time and making the connection between colour and form had a profound impact on my work. As a student of science and mathematics, I took delight in the exact and the abstract. Pursuing a degree (BSc, UBC, 1975) taught me how to ask questions and to explore more than one option, no matter the subject.
After completing an MFA studio (UC Irvine, 1978) I wandered for nearly a decade, traveling thousands of miles on long distance trails. This emersion into the wilderness had a significant impact on the way I live life as well as exposing me to the realities of living and dying, and thus my place in the world. As a clinical counsellor I spent much time learning about how people communicate. My work reflects this in the use of landscape imagery as language. Natural forms are a safe and welcoming metaphor with which to speak of these profound insights. Language is not just verbal.
Aging is perhaps the greatest gift we are given, for with it comes the profound awareness of death. The undeniable sense of the finite that is so much a part of successful aging renders a deep awareness of self from which comes wisdom and the drive to speak of that wisdom. That is a significant part of what it means to me to be an artist today.
My work has been exhibited in public galleries throughout British Columbia and Alberta. I've had the privilege of being an artist-in-residence in Glacier and Mt Revelstoke National Parks. My work is found in many private collections throughout the world. Currently I am represented by Alpine Echo Gallery in Revelstoke and live on Vancouver Island.
Jo C Willems MFA
jocwillems.com