Elizabeth Cook-Romero, writing for the Pasatiempo, notes that “Gigi Mills paints a world in flux.  Like the kaleidoscopic and fleeting manifestations of nature, every color and texture in Mills’ paintings seems as if it could change in the blink of an eye.”  Gigi’s recent sketches, collages, and paintings on panel do bear witness to an intuitive immediacy in media.  Thin paint, visible brushstrokes, sgraffito (scratched) lines, drawn marks, and collaged papers create a textural surface that clearly records the artist’s last touch and gesture.   Like the work of Milton Avery, Gigi abstracts space and forms to merely reference the physical world.  Her beaches, seasides, and interiors are placed in an impossible mixture of points of view, resulting in truly imaginary spaces.  An attention to flat geometric shapes, a rarity of detail, and a tendency to define her figures as silhouettes lends anonymity to her subjects.  Gigi observes, “The reduction of forms to a simplified elegance is essential to my paintings.  A successful piece should have the psychological and aesthetic weight to hold the viewer, to entice them to keep coming back to it.  It’s my goal with each painting to create extraordinary beauty with the ballast of emotional complexity.”
Working in series allows Gigi to tell a larger story amongst a group of related paintings.  The “Procession Series” seems to have subtly spawned from her personal history of being raised within the Mills Brothers’ Circus.  Burdened animals and clowns occupy a non-space en route to nowhere and conjure up the bittersweet quality of Samuel Beckett’s poetry and plays that Gigi enjoys.  Elements from previous series, such as Gigi’s museum interiors, drying laundry, reclining figures, Southern women, and still-lives featuring musical instruments and fruit, often reemerge.  In sketchbook pages and complex collages and paintings on bookboard, Gigi’s various series have begun to mingle.
Gigi has a BFA in Theatre from the College of Santa Fe, NM and an MA in Choreography from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.  Her training results in an awareness of gesture and performance.  Interestingly, many of her paintings present themselves as stage sets, where the figures and interiors are conspicuously on display.  With all of their grace or awkwardness they face and confront the viewer.  Gigi Mills has exhibited throughout the US, Italy, France and in China, where she was a visiting artist in Zhangjiajie in 2009.

When the original fine works of Gigi Mills first arrived at Gallery Orange I was amazed at they drew the crowds in off the streets immediately. From people unknown to Gigi’s works to existing collectors from all around the US that were thrilled her works were now represented in New Orleans.

Gigi Mills’ works are all about “less is more” approach to design. It is more about what is not being said rather than what is. Composed of earthier neutral tones inspired from Milton Avery, Picasso and Matisse, Gigi leaves out details that keep the observer’s imagination sharp. The artist  has her own fresh style and signature that is uniquely “Gigi Mills” .  “What is the girl doing?” “Who else is in the room?”; all questions that Gigi cleverly leaves us with.

Gigi’s works are perfectly balanced and the forms oftentime simple and childlike. Her human forms are by no means anatomically correct, yet are so perfect compositionally and very pleasing to the eye.  Like Picasso once said “It took me a lifetime to paint like a child”. This approach takes much skill and practice to be able to accomplish perfectly. Gigi Mills is always very critical of her own works, and will destroy or paint over works she feels are not 100% completely perfect.

Gigi Mills was raised in the Mills Brothers Circus to a Russian father and an English mother. Creativity, dedication and hard work were taught at home as part of the daily routine. Qualities necessary and to make it as a fulltime artist in this fiercely competitive world. Gigi would sketch while travelling in hotels and 15 years ago decided she wanted to pursue her dream as of becoming a fulltime artist. Gigi was literally the starving artist to start with, and would sell her works anywhere she could at fairs and flea markets. One day a New York lady with a keen eye walked up and literally bought out her entire stall.

Gigi Mills’ art career has gone from strength to strength since these early days, to become an extremely respected, collected and loved Contemporary artist who shows both Nationally and Internationally.

We are proud to present the fine all original works on paper, book board and panel of Santa Fe based Gigi Mills.

Tracy Gielbert, Gallery Director

Gallery Orange, March 2012

So you all get to hear the terms “original art” “giclees” “contemporary art” (pronounced zeeklees), etchings, serigraphs and other words surrounding the art world. What do they really MEAN?? I am about to explain hopefully and put light onto the matter.

“Contemporary” to me in my gallery means of TODAY (living artists)  although some say that contemporary is everything from World War II (late 1940s) onwards.

“Original” quite simply means a unique one-off piece or small edition hand-pulled print from the artists own hand i.e an oil, acrylic, watercolor painting, etching or a drawing  (i.e. not a machine driven process like a giclee).

This term “original” however gets a little complicated when we get to the world of  prints. An “Original Fine” print means pulled from the copper plate, lithographic stone or woodcut that the artist carved, etched or drew or carved into him/herself”.

Certain artisinal printmaking techniques are extremely respected and still taught at Art Colleges worldwide.  Under the “printmaking” umbrella falls works on zinc/copper “etchings”,  stone lithographs, lino cuts, woodcuts and even hand pulled silk prints (or serigraphs which Andy Warhol made famous).  I guess the basic potato print is the most basic form of original printmaking I can explain. The  art print business, however,  can use the words to his own advantage ie. “original lithograph” means that yes it IS a lithograph from a lithographic stone, but not necessarily from the artists own hand. In many cases, the lithographic stone was used to produce large amounts of works too where master lithographers took the original images and “translated” them onto the stones. These are techically not ‘fine prints” but are called “afters” (ie. a print “after” a design from the artist).   Alot of the modern masters did do the work on the stones themselves using this artisinal process and these pieces are always worth more money.

Original works from the artists own hand are always more valuable and desirable.

Giclees (derived from French “to spray”) are NEVER from the artists own hand, because its a mechanical process whereby the original image is “scanned” in and then the printer can recreat the image either on paper or on canvas. A kind of massive ink jet printer.  This has become a cheap way for painters to mass produce their works. Sometimes they can even go in and hand embellish parts of it, but its is NOT a respected nor artisinal art form.

Photographers use the giclee process alot to translate their works onto large scale canvases because the actual image/photography is the art form in this case.

There is a new law in the French Quarter that allows “original art” to be sold sales tax free. Anything original or under 100 prints. The hand pulled prints (etchings, woodcuts etc) fall into this catagory, but machine driven giclees do not. This is a cool bonus for locals to buy original art in these “cultural product districts” and save themselves almost 10%.

Oil paint is a great medium. Basically pigment in linseed oil. One of the most respected and the oldest used. Its advantages are great use of the mediums and a whole range of glazes and techniques. Its disadvantages are that it has a longer drying time and some artists can be allergic to the chemicals used.

Acrylic is great it is basically pigment in a “glue” thats fast drying and holds its color forever. Water based, non-smelly and easy to dilute to make glazes or use with fillers to make body.

Original art collecting can be fun and a great hobby to get the whole family involved in over the years. A great investment to bring warmth and color to your home, and if you buy the right hard working, desirable and prolific artists,  you can watch your investment grow while enjoying the art with friends and family on a daily basis.

I am always happy to answer you art questions should you have them.

BE original BUY original is our motto at Gallery Orange !!

Tracy Gielbert, Gallery Owner and Director