|
|
Ad Code: 4
|
An example of work by Gene Gill
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
|
|
|
This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| The following, submitted October 2005, is from the artist.
Gene Gill was born in Memphis, Tennessee and received his BFA (1962)
from Los Angeles’s Chouinard Art School (Now the California Institute
of the Arts). His formal training at Chouinard, with an
emphasis on “individual development”, would predict his interest in
going his own way. But he credits Chouinard’s master teachers,
Donald Graham in Drawing and Composition, Bill Moore in Design, Herb
Jepson in Drawing, and Robert Chuey in Painting, as great influences on
his development.
Gill’s intention was always to have a dual-career as an artist/art
educator. Getting established in art education took more time and
energy that had been anticipated, and he didn’t begin to exhibit his
own work until 1968, with his first one-person show at a Los Angeles
gallery in 1970. His signature work at this time was
characterized by linear abstract designs on several layers of clear
plastic. Each layer was set into a frame and spaced 1”
apart. The background was a sheet of polished aluminum, also
spaced 1” from the sheets of plastic. All this was set into a
polished aluminum frame. The effect was a “moire pattern” where
the image constantly changed as the viewer moved around and as the
lighting changed.
During the next five years Gill became well established in the Los
Angeles area with two more one-person gallery shows, and with his works
being acquired by some major museums and collectors, including the Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Northrop
Corporation, and Container Corporation of America.
In addition to painting during this period, Gill has begun to make his
own screen prints which incorporate his 3-D concepts on a 2 dimensional
surface. At this same time, prominent Los Angeles painters Lorser
Feitelson and his wife Helen Lundeberg were being pressured by the two
internationally known Los Angeles “print houses” to work with them and
go into print making. Instead they chose Gene Gill to turn their
works into prints and serve as the master printer for a series of
serigraphs they did in 1971-72. Gill practically took a one-year
sabbatical from his own work and worked closely with the two artists
during the next year.
1975 marked a turning point in Gene’s life. He had a disastrous
fire, which destroyed his hillside home and studio. For some time
after this he did not paint. Instead, he concentrated on teaching
and on his love of travel. That love of travel would lead to a
gradual progression from painting to making personal miniatures in
1985. These miniatures were literally 3-D scrapbooks, which
represented famous landmarks that the artist had visited. In
1992, the miniatures went “public” as a new approach in presenting
important architectural structures of the world. Today each of
these miniatures is one-of-a-kind, and is handcrafted using a composite
of styrene and any other material “which works”. Many of the
models contain over 3,000 individual pieces and require weeks of
work. Every miniature is entirely hand-painted by the artist to
emphasize the intricate architectural details. The artist is only
able to make an average of 12 models per year.
Since 1992, Gill has continued making his Landmark miniatures and has
had a one-person show at a Gallery in 1995, and another at the Ronald
Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in 2000.
Travel has become a way of life for the artist. He has personally
visited all the landmark sites represented in his miniatures, and
counts over 38 visits to Europe alone. During his travels, he
locates a potential Landmark and then spends hours making sketches and
photographing the Landmark from all angles.
In addition to his career as an artist, Gene Gill was an art teacher
with the Los Angeles Valley College for 4 years and the Los Angeles
School District for 25 years. He continues to live and work in
the Los Angeles area, now making his home/studio in Pasadena,
California.
PERIODICAL REFERENCES
Miniature Collector – Jul 2004 – “Famous Dwellings” – Pg 19
Historic Preservation – Nov/Dec 94 – “Notes” by Kim Keister. Pg 10
ASSOCIATION EXHIBITIONS
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum –2000 (One Person Show)
Laguna Beach Art Museum – 1977 “California 100”
Municipal Art Gallery – 1976 “Home Savings Collection”
Los Angeles County Museum Art – 1973 “Dimensional Prints”
Palm Springs Desert Museum – 1973 “Selections from the Permanent Collection”
San Diego Fine Arts Gallery – 1972 “California-Hawaii Regional”
Laguna Beach Art Museum – 1971 “Exhibition 10”
MEMBERSHIP
Los Angeles Art Association
|
This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Watercolorist Gene Gill, a commercial illustrator for 35 years, now paints cityscapes of his hometown of Portland, Oregon.
Gene
Gill is a member of the Oregon Watercolor Society and a signature
member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. He attended Portland
State University, the Museum Art School in Portland and the Art Center
in Los Angeles.
Source:
Watercolor, Winter 2002 |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|