How an Angel Can Make a Portrait
The Artist self-portrait came into being at the dawn of the invention of the mirror in the 15th century. Self-portraits historically are highly valued and sought after by collectors as they offer insight into the creator’s surroundings, state of mind and self-examination to name a few motivations.
Gil has only created a small handful of self-portraits to date, and each carried its own significance as they came into being. His earlier personal portraits were rendered as an exercise in self-identification. Meaning, a single and solo figure of the artist within a traditional composition. A singular mirror of introspection – a “self-check,” if you will. It is unusual for his portraits to come onto the marketplace and in this offering of newly available paintings there are surprisingly two. Each of these works places its creator at a specific, meaningful, and even critical place in time imagining a future and the other a significant new beginning.
In How an Angel Can Make a Portrait, Gil had literally just met the young woman who was soon to become to be his savior, muse, business partner, wife of 22 years and the person who would play a critical role in building his artistic future. He had a vision. Unbeknownst to her, when the Artist arrived at his art dealer’s business with this new artwork that she was – actually – the central character of the painting disguised. He had set out a plan for his future which included her. The artist’s visage expresses a sense of longing, wanting and need. Taking in the angel perched upon the cube, her presence suggests his desires which she is earnestly mapping out. As the Artist gently and carefully holds his precious and hopeful future, it soon came to fruition as fate then took over and this unexpected imagining became reality - The Reality of a Dreamer. This story comes full circle as seen in the painting Jump.
In addition to being one of few self-portraits painted by the Artist,
paintings from the 1980s are scarce in the marketplace.
