His early works gave homage to the theories and techniques of the hard-edge school, but his boldly-painted stripes gradually overwhelmed the canvas. This led him to explore what would happen if the stripes decided to leave to canvas and take off into the surrounding space. His “ribbon paintings” gave him the opportunity to leave the two-dimensional space of the canvas. As his style emerged he began to incorporate his sculptural and wood crafting skills to create three-dimensional paintings.
He states, “I prefer to work with vivid colors, explore monochromatic themes, and create images using negative and positive space. The ribbons are unpredictable as they twist in response to their length, width, and layers of paint applied. The twists add shadows on the wall and a sense of change in the color and space, which is yet another point of interest. The vibrant colors travel seamlessly through each of these components, creating a unified statement. The color pallet, crafted wood base, canvas ribbons and the rods make each piece intriguing from all angels, and allows it to be affected by airflow and humidity. In this way, it becomes a form of environmental art, being constantly shaped by natural elements.”
Gil, newly retired, is able to devote full-time to his painting in his home studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
