JOHN WILLIAM BAILLY: NOMADIC, CURATED BY GEORGE KINGHORN
19 SEPTEMBER 2025 – 13 DECEMBER 2025
OPENING: 18 SEPTEMBER 2025
ARTIST TALK: 16 OCTOBER 2025
ZILLMAN ART MUSEUM
40 HARLOW STREET
BANGOR, MAINE 04401
ZILLMAN ART MUSEUM
NOMADIC: John William Bailly
Essay by George Kinghorn, Executive Director and Curator
During his journeys around the globe, British-French-American artist John William Bailly is creating a subjective atlas of the world through an extensive series of plein air drawings. To date, Bailly has created over 600 drawings that depict settings from Cape Spartel in Morocco to the island of Ko Samui in Thailand. The selected works featured in Nomadic offer a glimpse into varied places—from architectural sites in celebrated cities to serene landscapes—that have inspired Bailly on his travels. European historical sites such as the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, Italy and Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France are featured alongside images of locations in Southeast Asia including the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand and Diện Kiến Trung in Hue, Vietnam.
With patient eye and energetic line, Bailly captures the essence of these places, including the weather, time, atmosphere and light. The artist states, “I am forever aware that we are moving through time and place in a singular manner. The drawings are above all a documentation of a particular moment when engaged in the act of looking and making. Thoughts, situational factors, and distractions influence the process. Am I in direct sun? Is someone speaking to me? Is a place closing soon? Is it beginning to rain? The drawings are the reflection of a moment of existence at a certain time.” Unifying elements of Bailly’s graphite drawings are that they are always the same size, created on Arches watercolor paper, and must be completed in one sitting.
John William Bailly received his MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University and has been a Faculty Fellow of the Honors College of Florida International University since 2004.
LIST OF WORKS/ZILLMAN PERMANENT COLLECTION
The Nomadic exhibition consisted of 30 In Situ drawings by Bailly and one print by Piranesi. 15 of the drawings were acquired by the Zillman for their permanent collection. All works are 7 x 10 inches/, Graphite on Arches Paper.
Zillman Permanent Collection
Porta Libitinaria of Colosseo Romano, 21 Maggio 2022
Tempo di Vesta a Roma, 22 Maggio 2022
Spanish Steps a Roma, 14 Maggio 2023
Dubrovnik from Fort Lourijenal, 28 Svibanj 2024
Jesuit Stairs in Dubrovnik, 28 Svibanj 2024
Casa di Colombo a Genova, 05 Giugno 2024
Binnenhof in Den Haag, 15 Juni 2024
De Markt in Delft, 17 Juni 2024
Srebrena Vrata in Split, 11 Srpanj 2024
Foro di Pompeii with view of Mount Vesuvius, 14 Iuglio 2024
Carrer de Sant Pere Mitja en Barcelona, 08 Agost 2024
Fira South on Santorini, 23 August 2024
Temple of Literature in Hanoi, 30 December 2024
Notre-Dame de Paris Reouvert, 28 Février 2025
Notre-Dame de Paris Reouvert avec des Grues, 03 Mars 2025
Loan Courtesy of the Artist
Ponte Vecchio a Firenze, 23 Maggio 2019
Aqueduc du Gier, 25 Juillet 2020
Willemstad in Curaçao, 29 February 2024
Tomba di Dante a Ravenna, 24 Maggio 2024
Spiegelgracht Canal in Amsterdam, 16 Juni 2024
Ålesundet Harbor in Ålesund, 21 Juni 2024
Palau Reial de Barcelona, 30 Juliol 2024
Temple of Hera in Olympia, 19 August 2024
Mykonos, 20 August 2024
Parthenon of Acropolis in Athens, 21 August 2024
Library of Celsus in Ephesus, 22 Ağusto 2024
Hong Kong Island seen from Hong Kong, 08 December 2024
Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, 25 December 2024
Diên Kièn Trung in Hue, 29 December 2024
Île de la Cité vue du Pont des Arts à Paris, 01 Mars 2025
LAST UPDATE
26 January 2025
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John William Bailly 