Inner Light: The Art of Tom Gilleon

Known for his luminescent colors and authentic portrayal of Native Americans, Tom Gilleon is one of the most respected masters in the Contemporary Western art movement. His sophisticated use of colors has been described as “magical elegance” by Patrick Hemingway and compared to modern fine art painters Edward Hopper and Mark Rothko.​​

Inner Light is a 70-painting career retrospective featuring 12-oil paintings on loan from Walt Disney Imagineering where Gilleon worked at the side of Disney art legend Herb Ryman and helped invent the concepts that became EPCOT and the Disneyland Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Shanghai theme parks.

In addition to showcasing paintings created throughout his Western art career, the exhibit also debuts the world premier of Spirit Catcher, his stunning 22-minute digital painting triptych created with former Walt Disney Imagineer and concept designer Marshall Monroe of Magic Media Labs.

Gilleon’s works are held in the permanent collections of the Whitney Western Art Museum, the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, the C.M. Russell Museum, the Booth Museum of Western Art, the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, NASA, the United States Air Force, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, and Warner Bros. Studios.

The retrospective’s 60-page brochure and 200-page hardback book are designed by award-winning graphic artist Derrit DeRouen and edited by Norman Kolpas, the author of more than forty art books.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website