BIO
Leon Phillips, born in 1964 in Spalding, Saskatchewan, Canada, is a contemporary painter based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Known for his gestural style, Phillips’ work explores embodiment and perception through colour's materiality. His oeuvre spans mediums such as oil on canvas, gouache on paper, and watercolour on paper, utilizing traditional alla prima and glazing techniques. Phillips infuses colour with structural significance and views himself as a facilitator collaborating with tools and materials. Phillips' paintings, more than mere objects or images, serve as conduits for shared sensory experiences, engaging viewers on visceral levels. Phillips' work has been showcased at venues such as the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse, Canada, and the Amelia Douglas Gallery in New Westminster, Canada. His work is included in collections that include the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago, IL, USA, and the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre in Daugavpils, Latvia. He has participated in artistic programs and residencies such as the International Painting Symposium "Mark Rothko 2021" at the Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre and the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Banff, AB, Canada. Through his innovative approach to colour and form, Phillips pushes the boundaries of contemporary painting.
CV
Born in 1964 in Spalding, Canada
Resides and works in Vancouver, Canada
EDUCATION/TRAINING
1985-1989: Bachelor of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo School of Architecture, Waterloo, Canada
1982-1985: Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Swish, THIS Gallery, Vancouver, Canada (upcoming)
2022 The Matter of Colour, THIS Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2010 Manufactured Colour, Havana Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008 The Nature of Creation, Waterfront Theatre Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2008 Colour as Vibration, Amelia Douglas Gallery, New Westminster, anada
2003 Surface, Depth and Light, Studio Blue Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2000 Open/Shut, Yukon Arts Centre, Whitehorse, Canada
1999 Fugitive Phenomena, Artworks Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada
1998 Leon Phillips: Recent Work, Community Arts Council, Vancouver, Canada
1997 Leon Phillips: Recent Work, The Prince George Art Gallery, Prince George, Canada
1997 Garden in the Wind, Artworks Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada
996 Internalized Landscapes, Summer Song Gallery, Seattle, the United States of America
1996 Leon Phillips: Recent Work, The Canadian Consulate General Maple Leaf Gallery, Chicago, the United States of America
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Preview 2022, THIS Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2021 Unsettled, THIS Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2021 17th International Painting Symposium Mark Rothko 2021, Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia
2019 Art On Paper, Site:Brooklyn Gallery, Brooklyn, the United States of America
2012 Sans Brush, Cityscape Community Art Space, North Vancouver, Canada
2011 Scapes, Propeller Centre for the Visual Arts, Toronto, Canada
2005 Painting on the Edge, Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, Vancouver, Canada
2005 Heatwave, Agnes Bugera Gallery, Edmonton, Canada
2002 A Permanent Collection, Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George, Canada
2000 Gallery Artists, Gallery L-V, Vancouver, Canada
1998 Gallery Artists, ARTWORKS, Saskatoon, Canada
1998 artWORK: A Juried Exhibition of Contemporary BC Artists, Prince George, Canada
1997 The Canadian Collection at APEC ‘97’, Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, Vancouver, Canada
1997 Gallery Artists, ARTWORKS, Saskatoon, Canada
1996 Gallery Artists, ARTWORKS, Saskatoon, Canada
1985 Student Work: Structurist Reliefs, Gordon Snelgrove Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada
COLLECTIONS
Canadian Consulate General, Chicago, the United States of America
Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia
Oliver Lodge, Saskatoon, Canada
Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George, Canada
Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
Leon Phillips is collected by various private collectors in Canada, the United States of America, Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, and Korea.
RESIDENCIES
2025 International Artists Residency 2025, Brelinger Mitte, Brelingen, Germany (upcoming)
2021 International Painting Symposium “Mark Rothko 2021,” Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, Latvia
2020 Leighton Artists Studios, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Banff, Canada
2019 Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, the United States of America
2018 Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, the United States of America
GRANTS
2020 Research and Creation Grant, Canada Council for the Arts, Canada
2020 Project Assistance for Visual Artists Grant, British Columbia Arts Council, Canada
2018 Merit Based Artists Grant, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, the United States of America
PRESS
Carlotta Mazzoli, ed., “Leon Phillips” in Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine (2024).
Carolina Castilho and Nina Seidel, eds., “Leon Phillips” in Suboart Magazine (2024).
Peter Milne, “Exceeding the Given: Rewriting Lyotard’s Aesthetics” in Cultural Potlitics. Rewriting Lyotard: Figuration, Presentation, Resistance (2013).
Leon Phillips, “Lyotard’s Dance of Paint” in Cultural Politics. Rewriting Lyotard: Figuration, Presentation, Resistance (2013).
Sheila Robertson, “Beyond the Garden” in The Star-Phoenix (1997).
Jill Stewart, “Beyond Ordinary Time and Space” in Prince George This Week (1997).
Frank Peebles, “Phillips Paints on Horizon of Spirituality” in The Prince George Free Press (1997).
Terry Woolsey, “Leon Phillips - Visual Artist” in The Naicam News (1996).
Carlotta Mazzoli, ed., “10 Questions with Leon Phillips ” in Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art Magazine Issue 17 | Featured Artist (2024) at [https://www.altiba9.com/artist-interviews/leon-phillips-painting-abstract-color-emotions] consulted on 24 December, 2024.
Bianca Kann, “Leon Phillips: Mastering Space and Light” in Aatonau (2024) at [https://aatonau.com/leon-phillips-mastering-light-and-space/] consulted on 31 October, 2024.
Paige Simianer, “Artist Leon Phillips Reveals His Perspective of Materiality, Color, and Success” in Artwork Archive: The Art Blog (2023) at [https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/artist-leon-phillips-reveals-his-perspective-of-materiality-color-and-success] consulted on 06 July, 2023.
Kevin Griffin, “Materialism Three Ways, An Interview with Leon Phillips” in THIS Gallery Exhibitions, The Matter of Colour, (2022) at https://thisgallery.org/project/leon-phillips-the-matter-of-colour/
Kevin Dale McKeown, “Leon Phillips: Exploring the Materiality of Colour” in The West End Journal (2020) at [https://www.thewestendjournal.ca/blog/2020/11/1/artists-among-us] consulted on 01 November, 2020.
Kevin Griffin, “Leon Phillips: reclaiming gesture and colour in painting” in The Vancouver Sun Art Seen (2013) at [https://vancouversun.com/news/staff-blogs/leon-phillips-reclaiming-gesture-and-colour-in-painting] consulted on 05 November, 2013.
Joy Garnett, “Cultural Politics Special Issue: Rewriting Lyotard: Figuration, Presentation, Resistance” in NEWSgrist: Where Spin is Art (2013) at [https://newsgrist.typepad.com/underbelly/2013/09/cover-image-leon-phillips-expand-5-2012-watercolor-on-watercolor-paper-15205-inches-unframed-private-collectio.html] consulted on 10 September, 2013.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Tatjana Černova, Mark Rothko 2021: International Painting Symposium. Daugavpils: Daugavpils Mark Rothko Art Centre, Daugavpils, 2021.
Pascal Milelli, Painting on the Edge. Vancouver: Federation of Canadian Artists Gallery, 2005.
Peter Milne, An Aesthetics without Nature, History and Home in the Kantian Sublime. Leuven: Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2001.
Janis Diner Brinley, artWORK: A Juried Exhibition of Contemporary BC Artists. Prince George: BC Festival of the Arts, 1998.
Eber Rice, ed., The Canadian Collection at APEC ’97. Vancouver: Asia-Pacific Economic Corporation, 1997.