Gigi has been an artist from the moment she was able to hold a brush between her fingers. She studied at Columbus College of Art and Design, and received a B.F.A. from the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. In 1993, Gigi boldly left a lucrative career as a Graphic Designer to pursue her art on a full-time basis. As this decision left her facing divorce and single-parenthood one can imagine the obstacles she overcame, but in her work one can still feel the positive essence of womanhood and the spirit of love.

Gigi’s art is inspired primarily by Romare Bearden, Benny Andrews, William Johnson, Jacob Lawrence, Charles McGee, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso. She prefers to work in acrylics and mixed media on paper, wood or canvas, but is also adept at watercolor, collage, paper sculpture, stained glass and airbrush.

Gigi is one of few artists who are able to work across a wide spectrum of cultural images. She creates reflections of African-American people who more often than not are portrayed as “colored” people in her work in the most literal sense. Most evident in Gigi’s art and her personality is her passion. She also has an attraction to nudes as subject, and she states, “…the human form is one of the most beautiful of God’s creations.” Gigi feels that the nude as expressed in fine art “…grabs us differently than in other manifestations such as film, music videos, and commercial advertising.”

She maintains her studio in Detroit, Michigan and works every day from mid afternoon until the early hours of the morning.

Selected Corporate Collections

• Ameritech, Detroit, MI
• Hannah & Associates, Detroit, MI
• MichCon, Detroit, MI
• Penn Center, South Carolina
• Corporate Detroit Magazine, Detroit, MI

Shows & Exhibitions

1993

Ameritech Headquarters Building, Detroit, MI

1994

Urban Park Gallery, Detroit, MI

1994

Horne Fine Art Gallery, Detroit, MI

1995

Museum of African American History, Detroit, MI

1995

McNamara Building, Detroit, MI

1995

Annie Lee Gallery, Chicago, IL

1996

Art Expo, New York, NY

1996

Merchandise Mart, Atlanta, GA

1997

LaBelle Gallery, New Orleans, LA

1998

Horne Fine Art Gallery, Detroit, MI

1998

InnerVisions Gallery, St. Petersburg, FL

1998

Pierson Fine Art Gallery, Kalamazoo, MI

1999

Moore’s Gallery, Birmingham, MI