Toronto-born Justin Ogilvie graduated from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 2000. He is currently working on his Masters of Fine Art at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.

Ogilvie's work explores the metaphysical nature of the self and how it is illuminated by the presence of the "other". Through the human figure, he addresses themes of intimacy between the bodies of lovers, strangers, and what he calls "the myriad of others within the self".

Ogilvie works directly from life, using textures and various mediums of painting and drawing to heighten the physicality of the canvas surface. By juxtaposing different techniques and using both realism and abstraction in the same piece, his forms conjure up a metaphysical reality as well as the inexorable need for touch experienced by people.

Ogilvie is inspired by the sensitive objectivity and earth-tone palettes of the Old Masters. His timeless figures initially were influenced by the "carnivorous" paintings of Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon. His recent work explores the phenomenology of experience, particularly the relationship of body to consciousness.