Artist Statement
COMING ABOUT is an exhibition of ink-on-paper drawings as well as painted versions of drawings I have been working on for the past thirty years. Concurrent with my career as a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and actress I have been making and exhibiting visual artworks. My creative process is informed by and directly mimics my work as a choreographer, by using the same intuition and desire to create dynamic emotional expressions in whimsical unexpected forms.
My visual arts career was born out of the need to channel the creativity that demanded attention during my downtime as a professional dancer. With ink and Fabriano paper I began improvising characters as I would dance, beginning first with a simple movement or line, then working outward without judgment or consequence, until the impulse was complete. Only then would I step back and discover where the line had taken me. Then, on to the next drawing, for hours at a time, playing with form and contrast, finding joy in composition and character.
Like a dance that evolves from an idea for a simple phrase into a composition, my work has expanded from those ink drawings to include color and canvas as well as sculpture. What runs through all of my work is the same thing that drew me to the dance: the dynamic nature of conflicted character, natural forces frozen in oppositional harmony, the constant interplay of stability, and escape.
Click here to watch a virtual gallery tour of this exhibit!
June 25 – August 25, 2020
Monday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Tuesday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Wednesday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Thursday: 10:00AM – 8:00PM
Friday: 10:00AM – 6:00PM
Saturday: 10:00AM – 6:00PM
Sunday: 10:00AM – 6:00PM
Add a comment to: Coming About by Gail Gilbert