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Gigi Mills
Night Sail

2023

About the Item

Gigi Mills' work is born out of her desire to simplify and reduce each moment to its essence; she achieves this by omitting mundane details from life that can often obscure genuine experience. She also bears witness to what is often disregarded or held in despair by lifting it up in beauty. Ms. Mills was born in Ohio into the revered Mills Brothers Circus family. It follows that both performance and plastic arts were admired and encouraged during her upbringing. In her early life, ballet and modern dance took up much of Gigi's focus and education. It was not until many years later that she began teaching herself to paint. Though she is influenced by several early and mid-twentieth century painters, she has developed a style that is distinctly her own. Gigi works in oil sometimes glazing to force the light to pass through many thin layers of paint. Sometimes disturbing the surface with scratches or removing bits of paint to expose the underpainting of layers so important to the backbone of a painting. Recent works on paper have become an exploration in texture, and both the ephemeral and sculptural nature of paper. These pieces have a refreshing immediacy having been worked quickly from a pile of oils, torn paper and crayons. No matter what her current technique, style or subject matter, it is always Mills' foremost intention to create work of extraordinary beauty with the ballast of emotional complexity. Working in series allows Gigi Mills 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 a bittersweet quality. Elements from previous series and signature moments (such as the scroll of the fiddle head) are often intertwining, meeting each other at table amongst a repast of cake, or appearing in some other interior of collected chairs or a familiar chaise. Presented in Mills' paintings is a balancing act of grace, awkwardness and elegance It seems that within this work the extraordinary everyday is enlisted to play its role to the fullest. "Much of my work comes from memories. I have given myself license to reconstruct dreams, childhood and family memories, and the odd moment from my life. Bits and pieces... some enhanced by distance and imagination or deconstructed to their most elemental prose. A softening, a brightening and in some cases a warming where there was no warmth. In any case, it's perhaps not so important where they come from, but how they might affect another now. It is always my hope that there is a quality in my paintings that will out last, and certainly out shine whatever my original intention."
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  • Sunning
    By Gigi Mills
    Located in New York, NY
    Gigi Mills' work is born out of her desire to simplify and reduce each moment to its essence; she achieves this by omitting mundane details from life that can often obscure genuine e...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Figurative Prints

    Materials

    Giclée, Archival Ink, Archival Paper

  • L'ARTISTE
    By Reka Nyari
    Located in New York, NY
    Print is also available in a large size : 50'' x 40'' and is priced at : $13,000. A black and white photographic print, with uniquely handmade puncture designs by the artist, set in a black shadow box frame. The new series “Punctured Ink” incorporates works from Nyari’s ongoing, portrait project titled “Ink Stories”. “Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerment. The series joins six women together, each who have faced adversity, to demonstrate the creation of a strengthened self-image through tattoos. By highlighting the intricate woven threads of ink on each woman’s skin, Nyari proposes the idea that self-empowerment and reconciliation with one’s traumas can be linked to the act of greeting one’s “own skin” or inventing their own story. Nyari has now elevated these intimate photographs in her new Punctured Ink series through the process of puncturing botanical-like references into the surface of each image (thus making each one of a kind). Her inspiration to physically puncture the previously pristine photographic prints stemmed from a childhood memory that occurred while she was living in Finland: “I remembered my parents had this big pad of paper next to the home phone in Finland and I would use my mother’s sewing needles to poke patterns into the paper”. This nostalgic memory in combination with the longing to apply her physical, painterly abilities resulted in the choice to transform these photographs via puncturing the paper. Unlike painting or drawing on the surface of each print, the raised, brail like holes created leave a permanent result, just as a tattoo does on one’s skin. While the surface of an artwork, like skin, is typically preserved and or avoided, Nyari follows in the subject’s footsteps by purposely destroying the pristine surface in order to create a new narrative. The act taps into a long history of tribal scarification which signified a right of passage, permitting the individual to transcend their past traumas and transforming their evolved selves. This notion grounds all of her works. In addition, Nyari’s choice to puncture nature-based patterns into each portrait also has its own significance. She stated that when “talking about scarification and getting over trauma, to me, nature is one of the most healing and beautiful elements.” As Nyari is emphasizing through her photographs, when you add a personal story onto the skin, it is a whole new layer that often becomes biographical. It translates a story to the audience of one’s past, future and wishes. While this concept existed in her previous photographic series, now, through puncturing the surface of each, Nyari is adding another layer of permanence onto her works’ meaning, therefore becoming, as she calls it “ink cubed”. ———————————————————————————————————————————— Born in 1979 in Helsinki, and raised in Finland and Germany, Nyari came to New York City at the age of seventeen. While here, she studied at the School of Visual Arts where she not only began to model but found her passion for photography. Using inspiration from masters such as Helmut Newton and Cindy Sherman, Nyari’s work employs and explores the traditional ideal of beauty and gender to portray sexuality from a predominately female perspective. She utilizes technical elements such as gestures, nudity, the subject’s gaze, objects and more to link this connection of the empowered feminine identity. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the United States and Europe and through such exposure, she has received multiple prestigious awards including the first-place winner of the International Photography Awards in 2010, Beauty Pro Category. Her 225-page Monograph titled “Femme Fatale: Female Erotic Photography...
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    2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography

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    Digital Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital, Plexiglass, Archival Ink, Ar...

  • LUNE DE SANG
    By Reka Nyari
    Located in New York, NY
    Print is also available in a large size : 63'' x 50'' and is priced at : $16,000. A black and white photographic print, with uniquely handmade puncture designs by the artist, set in a black shadow box frame. The new series “Punctured Ink” incorporates works from Nyari’s ongoing, portrait project titled “Ink Stories”. “Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerment. The series joins six women together, each who have faced adversity, to demonstrate the creation of a strengthened self-image through tattoos. By highlighting the intricate woven threads of ink on each woman’s skin, Nyari proposes the idea that self-empowerment and reconciliation with one’s traumas can be linked to the act of greeting one’s “own skin” or inventing their own story. Nyari has now elevated these intimate photographs in her new Punctured Ink series through the process of puncturing botanical-like references into the surface of each image (thus making each one of a kind). Her inspiration to physically puncture the previously pristine photographic prints stemmed from a childhood memory that occurred while she was living in Finland: “I remembered my parents had this big pad of paper next to the home phone in Finland and I would use my mother’s sewing needles to poke patterns into the paper”. This nostalgic memory in combination with the longing to apply her physical, painterly abilities resulted in the choice to transform these photographs via puncturing the paper. Unlike painting or drawing on the surface of each print, the raised, brail like holes created leave a permanent result, just as a tattoo does on one’s skin. While the surface of an artwork, like skin, is typically preserved and or avoided, Nyari follows in the subject’s footsteps by purposely destroying the pristine surface in order to create a new narrative. The act taps into a long history of tribal scarification which signified a right of passage, permitting the individual to transcend their past traumas and transforming their evolved selves. This notion grounds all of her works. In addition, Nyari’s choice to puncture nature-based patterns into each portrait also has its own significance. She stated that when “talking about scarification and getting over trauma, to me, nature is one of the most healing and beautiful elements.” As Nyari is emphasizing through her photographs, when you add a personal story onto the skin, it is a whole new layer that often becomes biographical. It translates a story to the audience of one’s past, future and wishes. While this concept existed in her previous photographic series, now, through puncturing the surface of each, Nyari is adding another layer of permanence onto her works’ meaning, therefore becoming, as she calls it “ink cubed”. ———————————————————————————————————————————— Born in 1979 in Helsinki, and raised in Finland and Germany, Nyari came to New York City at the age of seventeen. While here, she studied at the School of Visual Arts where she not only began to model but found her passion for photography. Using inspiration from masters such as Helmut Newton and Cindy Sherman, Nyari’s work employs and explores the traditional ideal of beauty and gender to portray sexuality from a predominately female perspective. She utilizes technical elements such as gestures, nudity, the subject’s gaze, objects and more to link this connection of the empowered feminine identity. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the United States and Europe and through such exposure, she has received multiple prestigious awards including the first-place winner of the International Photography Awards in 2010, Beauty Pro Category. Her 225-page Monograph titled “Femme Fatale: Female Erotic Photography...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Ink, Archival Paper, Photographic Paper, Plexiglass, Black and ...

  • ROUTES
    By Reka Nyari
    Located in New York, NY
    Print is also available in a small size : 50'' x 40'' and is priced at : $13,000. A black and white photographic print, with uniquely handmade puncture designs by the artist, set in ...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Digital, Pigment, Archival Pigment, Digital Pigment, Archival Ink, Archi...

  • SORCIER
    By Reka Nyari
    Located in New York, NY
    A black and white photographic print, with uniquely handmade puncture designs by the artist, set in a black shadow box frame. Print is also available in large size: 63'' x 50'' and i...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Photographic Paper, Black and White, Plexiglass, Pigment, Digital, Pigme...

  • PHANTASMA
    By Reka Nyari
    Located in New York, NY
    Print is also available in a large size : 56'' x 74'' and is priced at : $19,000. A black and white photographic print, with uniquely handmade puncture designs by the artist, set in a black shadow box frame. The new series “Punctured Ink” incorporates works from Nyari’s ongoing, portrait project titled “Ink Stories”. “Ink Stories”, which was introduced at Nyari’s very first solo gallery exhibit, consists of large-scale nude photographs that explore the concept of self-identity and female empowerment. The series joins six women together, each who have faced adversity, to demonstrate the creation of a strengthened self-image through tattoos. By highlighting the intricate woven threads of ink on each woman’s skin, Nyari proposes the idea that self-empowerment and reconciliation with one’s traumas can be linked to the act of greeting one’s “own skin” or inventing their own story. Nyari has now elevated these intimate photographs in her new Punctured Ink series through the process of puncturing botanical-like references into the surface of each image (thus making each one of a kind). Her inspiration to physically puncture the previously pristine photographic prints stemmed from a childhood memory that occurred while she was living in Finland: “I remembered my parents had this big pad of paper next to the home phone in Finland and I would use my mother’s sewing needles to poke patterns into the paper”. This nostalgic memory in combination with the longing to apply her physical, painterly abilities resulted in the choice to transform these photographs via puncturing the paper. Unlike painting or drawing on the surface of each print, the raised, brail like holes created leave a permanent result, just as a tattoo does on one’s skin. While the surface of an artwork, like skin, is typically preserved and or avoided, Nyari follows in the subject’s footsteps by purposely destroying the pristine surface in order to create a new narrative. The act taps into a long history of tribal scarification which signified a right of passage, permitting the individual to transcend their past traumas and transforming their evolved selves. This notion grounds all of her works. In addition, Nyari’s choice to puncture nature-based patterns into each portrait also has its own significance. She stated that when “talking about scarification and getting over trauma, to me, nature is one of the most healing and beautiful elements.” As Nyari is emphasizing through her photographs, when you add a personal story onto the skin, it is a whole new layer that often becomes biographical. It translates a story to the audience of one’s past, future and wishes. While this concept existed in her previous photographic series, now, through puncturing the surface of each, Nyari is adding another layer of permanence onto her works’ meaning, therefore becoming, as she calls it “ink cubed”. ———————————————————————————————————————————— Born in 1979 in Helsinki, and raised in Finland and Germany, Nyari came to New York City at the age of seventeen. While here, she studied at the School of Visual Arts where she not only began to model but found her passion for photography. Using inspiration from masters such as Helmut Newton and Cindy Sherman, Nyari’s work employs and explores the traditional ideal of beauty and gender to portray sexuality from a predominately female perspective. She utilizes technical elements such as gestures, nudity, the subject’s gaze, objects and more to link this connection of the empowered feminine identity. Her work has been exhibited in numerous galleries throughout the United States and Europe and through such exposure, she has received multiple prestigious awards including the first-place winner of the International Photography Awards in 2010, Beauty Pro Category. Her 225-page Monograph titled “Femme Fatale: Female Erotic Photography...
    Category

    2010s Contemporary Black and White Photography

    Materials

    Archival Ink, Plexiglass, Archival Paper, Digital, Photographic Paper, A...

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