I make paintings out of things I find irresistible: pattern, repetition, flowers, decorative excess, improbable combinations, and anything that catches the light. I borrow with delight from Asian and European ceramics, textiles, wallpaper, botanical illustration, ornamental painting, and other traditions in which beauty has been allowed to be abundant.
As an artist of mixed Asian and European ancestry, I have never found “East” and “West” especially convincing as fixed categories. My paintings are less interested in sorting out what belongs to whom than in seeing what happens when visual languages flirt, collide, borrow each other’s clothes, and carry on.
Play is not incidental to my process; it is the process. I begin with structure—a repeating motif, a historical design language, a botanical system—and then improvise. Repetition develops rhythm, rhythm invites disruption, and eventually the painting begins telling me what it wants.
I also use metallic gold and silver with considerable enthusiasm. These materials were once presented to me in art school as perilously close to “craft,” which may have increased their appeal. I remain suspicious of the idea that seriousness requires restraint. I like paintings that shimmer. I like ornament. I like things sublime enough to make good taste slightly tremulous.
The work can carry questions about cultural inheritance, hierarchy, borrowing, belonging, and refinement without surrendering its pleasure. I want the paintings to be intelligent, but I also want them to have fun.
Mimi Thompson
Exhibits
2021
“A+” Print photo finalist, School of Photographic Arts, Ottawa ON (group)
2020
“The Art of Hope” Painting, Hopewell Eating Disorder Support Centre fundraiser, Ottawa ON (group)
“A+” Digital photo exhibition, School of Photographic Arts, Ottawa ON (group)
2019
“A+” Digital photo exhibition, School of Photographic Arts, Ottawa ON (group)
2015 - 2020
Painting exhibition in 2nd floor waiting room at 301 Metcalfe Professional Building, Ottawa ON (solo)
2013
August - September “Art! The Curious Minds of Naropa Alumni” Painting exhibition, Naropa University Gallery, Boulder CO (group)
April - November Paintings, photos, drawings, and scupltures exhibition at Gallery Meilan, Galiano Island BC (solo, self-run studio & gallery)
May “Saatchi Screen” Digital painting exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, London UK (group)
2004
Winter Painting exhibition at Barb’s Buns restaurant, Salt Spring Island, BC (solo)
2003
May - July “Grad Show” Drawing, Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, Vancouver BC (group)
May - December Aphrodite’s Organic Delights, Vancouver BC (solo)
2002
January Drawing, Chelsea College of Art & Design, London UK (group)
2001
December Drawing, ECIAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver BC (group)
October Painting, ECIAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver BC (group)
September Drawing, ECIAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver BC (group)
July - September Painting, Dream Designs (retail), Vancouver BC (solo)
April ECIAD Photo Installation, Media Gallery, Vancouver BC (solo)
April ECIAD Painting, Concourse Gallery, Vancouver BC (group)
2000
November “Landscapes” Painting, Water Street Studio, Vancouver BC (group)
August - December “Centering” Painting, Dream Designs, Vancouver BC (solo)
May “Foundation Show” Painting, ECIAD Concourse Gallery, Vancouver BC (group)
April - May “Radial” ECIAD – 5 concurrent exhibits of paintings, photography, and mixed media works, Vancouver BC (solo)
April - May “Ascension” Painting, Dream Designs, Vancouver BC (solo)
1999
February - March “Specs” Paintings and photography, Railtown Gallery, Vancouver BC (solo)
1997
May “Bell Canada Awards Show” Photography, Chapters, Ottawa ON (group)
April Painting, Ottawa School of Art Gallery, ON (group)
Awards
2002
ECIAD Visual Arts Scholarship
ECIAD Arts Bursary
2001
Brissenden Visual Arts Scholarship
Helen Pitt Visual Arts Award
W.C. Black Memorial Visual Arts Award
Jillian Blatchford Fuller Visual Arts Bursary
Millennium Academic Scholarship
ECIAD Arts Bursary
Credit Union Foundation of BC Award
2000
Bruce Boyd Visual Arts Scholarship
BC Arts Council Scholarship
Parsons Visual Arts Entrance Scholarship
1997
Bell Canada Fine Art Award
Ottawa School of Art Bursary
1995
Ottawa Regional Theatre Award for Best Set Design
Art Education, Educator & Gallery Experience
2018-2021 Part-time Student, School of the Photographic Arts: Ottawa, Ottawa ON
2017 Expressive Arts Therapy, Level One Immersion, Prairie Institute of Expressive Arts Therapy, Calgary AB
2014 Faculty, Ottawa School of Art, Ottawa ON
2012-2013 Owner, Gallery Meilan, Galiano Island BC
2002 BFA Exchange Student, Chelsea College of Art & Design, London UK
1998-2003 BFA Student, Emily Carr Institute of Art & Design, Vancouver BC
1996-1997 Fine Arts, Ottawa School of Art
