NOEL WILMORE ART

Noel Wilmore is a native Philadelphian who has participated in artistic endeavors since being introduced to visual arts as a young child by his mother, an artist herself.

Noel grew up in the Wynnefield neighborhood of Philadelphia. He attended Philadelphia public schools until the 6th grade, when encouragement from family and from basketball coaches led Noel to seek scholarship at Germantown Friends School. The private Quaker school provided an opportunity to study art in a classic studio environment, as well as rigorous academic education. Noel remained at Germantown Friends for four years, until it became clear that his basketball talent would serve as the means for him to attend college. He transferred to Chester High School to further pursue athletics, and received his diploma in 2004. As a winner of a state basketball title who was among the top fifty high school players nationally, Noel was awarded a four-year athletic and academic scholarship to George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

As a freshman at George Washington, Noel enrolled in art courses with the intention to pursue a BFA, but was forced to change his focus when several fine arts professors took issue with the extensive class and studio time he was required to miss for away basketball games. Noel graduated from George Washington University in 2009 with a BA in Sociology and minors in American Studies and Fine Art, and soon after returned home to Philadelphia. 

Since college, Noel has been independently developing his style as a painter. He finds inspiration in early pop art, the iconography of ancient cultures and religions, 19th and 20th century history, public art, metaphysics, the experience of poverty, and commercial design such as adverts and take-out menus.

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