“Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night-filled mountain, in itself, forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” – Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus. Though there is often a profound aloneness in the paintings of Gigi Mills, the emotion conveyed is more complicated than loneliness. It is a sense of finding our place in the vastness of the world beyond our understanding–within and without ourselves–it is the powerful mystery of standing by the nighttime ocean or staring into the nighttime sky. The complicated simplicity of color and gesture combine to form figures who ask the constantly-asked questions: Questions we will never know the answers to, though the hounds and horses might teach us to accept the impossibility of understanding.

“My work is born out of my need and desire to simplify and/or reduce each moment to its absolute essential, by removing details from life that tend to obscure what is truly being experienced. It is also my desire to bear witness to, and often to lift up in beauty what is so often considered unwanted or held in despair.

I work in oil on canvas, linen, birch panel, paper, and sometimes cardboard as I am attracted to surfaces and the way in which the paint soaks in or lays on the surface. I often use many layers of oil paint in the belief that color carries (along with beauty) emotional content and memory even if it’s buried color with color under color… “- Gigi Mills

Gigi Mills’ work will be featured in “Low Tide,” a solo show at Emmanuelle G. Contemporary Gallery in New York City. May 11 – Jun 10, 2023.

Gigi Mills was born in Ohio to an English mother and a Russian father. She had a very colorful childhood of being raised in The Mills Bros. Circus family where plenty of travel and hard work were part of her daily routine. The performing arts were an early focus, specifically ballet and modern dance. Gigi spent quiet hours while traveling sketching, studying the masters, and dreaming of one day becoming an artist. In 1998 Gigi stopped traveling and began her full-time career as an artist. You can see more of her work on Instagram at gigimillsartist, and at GF Contemporary.