Gill Rocca
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Gill Rocca [b.1971, UK] is a British artist recognised for her imagined landscape paintings in oil. Bringing to life fictional landscapes rich in cinematic drama, with a gently surreal quality. Echoing the work of photographic greats like Todd Hido, and even Gregory Crewdson at times, though Rocca isn’t telling a story. Her work sets a scene and stirs memories found deep within us. Drawing on a lifetime of exploration and an upbringing rooted in the Lancashire hills. On cinema, poetry and the imagery conjured in books. Her paintings are at once familiar and jarring, photographic enough in style to create an impression of fact, while leaving room for the viewer to attach their own memories to the scenes and atmospheres of her mind.
Born in Lancashire, she studied BA Fine Art at Leeds University, graduating in 1994, then completed an MFA in Barcelona through Winchester School of Art, graduating with distinction in 1996. Rocca moved to London in 1998, then based at Studio Voltaire in Clapham where she worked for 18 years before moving to her current studio in South East London. Since her first solo show in 1997, she has exhibited regularly both nationally and internationally, with representation in the UK, Canada and Hong Kong.
“My body of work primarily explores imagined landscapes. Often made in series, the paintings vary greatly in scale, from intimate miniatures on cast resin and wood to large canvases. I work with an intentionally restricted colour palette, applying oil in thin glazes to smooth, meticulously hand-finished gesso surfaces… A predominant feature of my paintings is the subtle effect created by light through space over time. Ultimately the works attempt to create a dreamlike tension between reality, memory and the imagination.”
Her works have been selected for a number of curated exhibitions and juried art prizes in the UK including Columbia Threadneedle Prize (2013, 2014, 2018), ING Discerning Eye (2012, 2020), Figurative Art Now (2021) and the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition (2019, 2024, 2026). A number of Rocca’s largest paintings feature in corporate collections in the UK and internationally, including British Airways and the Royal Bank of Canada. Her paintings are held in private collections worldwide. For the past 10 years sales of her works have also raised funds in support of several charities, including the National Brain Appeal, The Woodland Trust and most recently War Child UK.
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