GOREGE BILLIS GALLERY / ROXA SMITH

Traveler’s Sanctuary

Traveler’s Sanctuary, Gouache on Board, 5 x 7", 2002

Pink Sofas at Woodchuck Knoll

Pink Sofas at Woodchuck Knoll, Gouache on Board, 5 x 7", 2001

The Hunter

The Hunter, gouache on panel, 7 x 5", 2003

Village Mayor

Village Mayor, gouache on panel, 7 x 5", 2003

I have always been drawn to Renaissance art, particularly to Renaissance portraits. The portraits in this show are a result of my exploration with portraiture and self-portraiture coupled with my love for Renaissance imagery.

Throughout my painting career I have explored portraiture and self-portraiture working with costume and face painting. I developed a series of head self-portraits in which my face was completely painted into patterns. As I worked, I became increasingly interested in the patterns and what they evoked as opposed to the conventional rendition of facial features. Eventually, I eliminated the facial features and expressions and used only the outline of the face to represent a thought or a feeling. This stimulated my exploration further which in turn led me to develop the series in this exhibit.

In this series, I reinterpret 16th and 17th century Renaissance portraits by omitting the subjects facial features while working within the outline of the face itself. Instead of facial features I paint an image symbolizing a momentary “mindscape”. This “mindscape” is my interpretation of a moment of the sitter's emotional state in relation to the historical events of that time and people's place in society. These "mindscapes" are not meant to lock the sitter into a particular mood or setting. Instead, they are meant to represent a thought, a state of mind or a feeling much like the ones we all experience consciously and subconsciously.

Mandala

Summertime, Gouache on Panel, 5 x 7"

Mandala

Porch, Gouache on Panel, 5 x 7"

Psyche’s Sister

Grandma's Bed, Gouache on Panel, 5 x 7"

This new series of paintings are small gouache ‘portraits’ of private interiors that include: living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, porches, and hotel lobbies. They are all images of places that are connected to my life. In a way, some of the interiors are ‘self portraits’ because they are of places I’ve lived in or spent a lot of time at, like my kitchen or bedroom. Others are of places that I know very well: my grandmother’s farmhouse, my aunt’s apartment, or my parent’s home. Sometimes they are less personal, but still familiar spaces such as friend’s homes. And sometimes they are interiors of places I’ve experienced for a short moment, but admired. The language of each interior is framed by the architectural space that I experience , observe, and interpret. By focusing on specific details, patterns, and colors, I redesign the space to create a ‘new’ place that weaves a tale. These private interiors often reveal a person’s character, humor, sensibility, sense of order and personal esthetic. In the end, the paintings tell stories not only about the people who inhabit and/or furnished them, but also about myself.

I chose to make these paintings very small (5” x 7”) in order to focus the view as if through a small window that glimpses a moment in time and space. The small scale also forces the viewer to move in close and slow down for a moment to discover the hidden treasure of these everyday and ordinary places.

gallery@georgebillis.com