Artists

Gillette West

Primary Medium: Mixed Media
Other Mediums: Painting, Drawing, Sculpture

Gillette West has 37 years of experience as an artist. Her nonrepresentational mixed media paintings, drawings, and sculptures can be found in private and corporate collections internationally including Greg and Ellen Duerksen, Pepsico Americas – Mexico City, Barbara and Gary Wells, and Wells Blue Bunny.

West does not believe in art competitions and does not enter them. She believes it is essential to see the actual art work not just a photograph of the artwork when making critical judgements regarding the quality of art. Most competitions rely on photographs for judging. She also believes that it is best to see several art works by a single artist exhibited together in order to accurately appreciate and understand the work of that artist. West feels strongly that the current competition format for most exhibitions fails to accomplish this and does little to promote the artists’ endeavors, also charging that the museum and gallery systems extract entry fees from large numbers of already economically strained artists in order to promote the agendas of their own institutions. She has written that, “The power of the coveted ‘one man exhibition’ lies not in the pronouncement that the artist ‘has arrived’ and is thus worthy of a one man show. The power lies instead in the nature and quality of the aesthetic experience afforded to the viewer of a one man exhibition which allows a deeper level of appreciation and understanding of an artist’s work and artistic aims.” Opting out early in her career, West has entered only five competitions in 37 years. She has exhibited at museums and galleries at their invitation.

BA Art / minor Philosophy – Briar Cliff University
MFA / Sculpture – University of South Dakota.
University Teaching Experience – Briar Cliff University
University of South Dakota
Western Iowa Tech Community College

In 2000 Gillette moved to the Twin Cities. In 2007 she founded The Arts Club of Minneapolis, a not profit private membership organization supporting art patronage and high quality art by pairing emerging artists with art patrons or the purpose of providing stable ongoing support for developing artists. For more information about The Arts Club of Minneapolis, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) is also a published poet and songwriter.

Studio Number: 402B
Phone: (763) 442-7245
Website:
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Open First Thursdays? Yes
Open for Art Attack? Yes
Open for Art-A-Whirl? Yes
Hours: Call for a private showing (763) 442-7245