Butterfly March
Alexander Berggruen, New York, NY
October 19th, 2022 - November 19th, 2022
Gabriel Mills: Butterfly March features paintings that find peace within paradox, emphatically embracing a self containing multitudes. Driven by divinity, Christianity, numerology, and spirituality, Gabriel Mills juxtaposes images and non-images that are ostensibly discrete, articulating the divergent dimensions of oneself. Through his faith, Mills accepts challenges and internal struggle, honoring the process of moving through pain and passion with light, form, color, and composition. Enabling himself to hold these capacious expressions and experiences contemporaneously, the artist affirms exhausting every facet of one’s agency and creative pursuits.
-Kirsten Cave
The Lily Of The Field And The Bird Of The Air
Oil On Canvas (Triptych), 73"x 182", 2022
Aeternam, 24"x56"
Oil On Wood Panel (Triptych) 2022
Wedding Tux
Oil On Canvas, 73"x73", 2022
VELOACRA
Oil On Wood Panel (Triptych), 62"x"24, 2022
222
Oil On Canvas, 73"x73", 2022
Sandmans Crygarden
Oil On Wood Panel (Triptych), 24"x56", 2022
BLAZE
Oil On Wood Panel, 24"x24", 2022
Adore
Oil On Wood Panel, 12"x24", 2022
Baptized In The Garden By The Breath Of Pain
Oil On Wood Panel, 24"x62" Triptych, 2022
Glassinela
Oil On Wood Panel (Triptych), 80"x24", 2022
Savonorola
Oil On Wood Panel (Triptych), 24"x60", 2022
MY LIFE IN FIVE PARTS
Oil On Wood Panel (Triptych), 24"x62", 2022
FUNERAL MARCH
Oil On Canvas, 73"x73", 2022
All The Dancers Twirling In The Rain Whisper Gently That I'm Out Of Place, But Today I'm Reborn
Oil On Canvas, 73"x73", 2022
TUTU
Oil On Wood Panel, 24"x24", 2022The action of painting—to construct, to remove, to add weight, to make light, to swirl, or in Richard Serra’s words about his sculptures, “[to lift], to roll, to crease, to curve”—becomes symbolic in Mills’s work. (1) The artist begins with thick broad layers of paint that he then refines into shorter gestures and precise color arrangements, resulting in topographical surfaces that balance texture and atmosphere. Mills painted FUNERAL MARCH through slowly built, dense layers, adding heavy weight to the work. Meanwhile, in his painting All The Dancers Twirling In The Rain Whisper Gently That I’m Out Of Place But Today I’m Reborn, Mills finalized the work by scraping away paint. Here, in the artist’s words, the painting evolves “towards lightness and vibrance after removing a burden.” The works that result from this treatment of dense layering and sometimes scraping away become simultaneously celestial and terrestrial as their form and colors approach ascendency while the physicality of the paint keeps them grounded. In these paintings, Mills examines the psychological consequences of this incompatibility of the desire to ascend in a body that is physically unable to do so. - Kirsten Cave
Dealing in contradictions, Mills challenges himself to no longer be surprised by obstacles and paradoxes; instead, he is accepting and finds harmony. Like a dancer, Mills persists with determination in his work; yet, the final performance—or painting in Mills’s case—appears to be an effortless, gentle, graceful dance. This mindful, tenacious approach to painting is a devotional practice to himself, God, and the paint. Speaking about the role of faith in his work, Mills stated: “Each mark is a thought, each thought is a mark. Painting is an extension and affirmation of my being.”
Humans often find meaning, purpose, and reward through struggle. As one grows through even the darkest of circumstances, light emerges. Metaphorically marching through life with mindfulness to consistently improve oneself and transcend their ego, one embodies the life of a butterfly. Gabriel Mills: Butterfly March is a procession of metamorphosis that encapsulates and commemorates the multitudes of one’s self, including inner conflict, inconsistencies, and mortality. Speaking about his drive to continue to better himself by virtue of religion and painting, Mills stated: “To be a butterfly is symbolic of choosing humbleness, weakness, and kindness—knowing there is strength in that.”
-Kirsten Cave