Gigi Mills

 Abstracting space and forms, Santa Fe artist Gigi Mills merely references 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. Mills deconstructs the everyday, then surprises by uniting layers of rich oils to capture ethereal images that are both intensely personal and timeless. The reduction of forms to a simplified elegance is essential to her paintings. Working in oil, sometimes glazing to force the light to pass through many thin layers of paint she sometimes scratches the surface or digs out small chunks of paint in order to reveal a little of the history of a piece. No matter what her current technique, style or subject matter, it is always Mill's foremost intention to create work of extraordinary beauty, elegance, and restraint. With a personal history of having been raised amongst the Mills Brothers' Circus and a former life as a Ballet dancer, characters in performance mode are common themes in her work. Often working out narratives within a series, her work always provides a rich and magical tale. 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.