GINA MINICHINO: PAINTINGS
May 20th - June 24th, 2017 Opening Reception: Saturday, May 20th, 5 - 8pm |
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |

George Billis Gallery is pleased to present “Paintings” an exhibition of work by Gina Minichino featuring the artist's recent oil paintings and continues through June 24th.
While Minichino depicts modern subjects such as junk food, her paintings are influenced by Dutch and Flemish masters’ use of light and space. Similarly, Minichino draws on the 17th Century Dutch still life tradition, which depicted food in a way that almost reified it in sumptuous stillness. Minichino is also influenced by the work of contemporary painter Wayne Thiebaud. Like Thiebaud’s paintings of candy and confections, which convey a simultaneous sense of both exuberance and loneliness, Minichino’s work has a subdued, almost gothic sense of isolation despite its subject matter.
Minichino writes of her work, “Ah, for the love of junk food! In my latest series of paintings I’m presenting snippets of childhood. These are objects that conjure warm memories of the past. To me, the delicacies I paint represent comfort. But more than that, as an adult, I’m fascinated by how the products have come to look. They are made to draw us in. The thought brings me back to a college assignment that instructed us to make something beautiful out of a practical object from industry, something not meant to be attractive. We were hard-pressed to find an object that fit this description. The challenge of that assignment has stayed with me over the years and I often return to it as I do my current work. All of these things are meant to look a certain way. Many people have played a part in presenting us with a visual that would make us spend our money, and actually ingest the product!
Gina Minichino received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1990. This will be her first solo exhibition at the George Billis Gallery Los Angeles, featuring a recent selection of her work.
Back to Artist Page
While Minichino depicts modern subjects such as junk food, her paintings are influenced by Dutch and Flemish masters’ use of light and space. Similarly, Minichino draws on the 17th Century Dutch still life tradition, which depicted food in a way that almost reified it in sumptuous stillness. Minichino is also influenced by the work of contemporary painter Wayne Thiebaud. Like Thiebaud’s paintings of candy and confections, which convey a simultaneous sense of both exuberance and loneliness, Minichino’s work has a subdued, almost gothic sense of isolation despite its subject matter.
Minichino writes of her work, “Ah, for the love of junk food! In my latest series of paintings I’m presenting snippets of childhood. These are objects that conjure warm memories of the past. To me, the delicacies I paint represent comfort. But more than that, as an adult, I’m fascinated by how the products have come to look. They are made to draw us in. The thought brings me back to a college assignment that instructed us to make something beautiful out of a practical object from industry, something not meant to be attractive. We were hard-pressed to find an object that fit this description. The challenge of that assignment has stayed with me over the years and I often return to it as I do my current work. All of these things are meant to look a certain way. Many people have played a part in presenting us with a visual that would make us spend our money, and actually ingest the product!
Gina Minichino received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York in 1990. This will be her first solo exhibition at the George Billis Gallery Los Angeles, featuring a recent selection of her work.
Back to Artist Page
George Billis Gallery opened its second location in the Culver City area of Los Angeles in 2004 and marks its 15th year in the Chelsea arts district in New York City. George Billis shows work by both emerging and established artists. For more information please contact the gallery at:
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
T: 310-838-3685
F: 310-838-3438
email: la@georgebillis.com
www.georgebillis.com
2716 S. La Cienega Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
T: 310-838-3685
F: 310-838-3438
email: la@georgebillis.com
www.georgebillis.com