Biography
Brian Gillis is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice examines relevant socio-cultural issues that may have fallen on deaf ears, been buried over time, or simply obscured by something else. He is interested in history as both an archive and a mine, as that which can at once chronicle and act as a catalyst for the reconsideration of one’s world. His work is discursive, research based, and uses a variety of production strategies ranging from observation and representation, to comment and action.
Gillis is the recipient of numerous awards, including an Illinois Arts Council Individual Artist Grant, Bronze Prize at the Art Interview 23rd International Artist Competition, Berlin, Germany, a Brink Award Nomination, and Sculpture Space residency in Utica, NY. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, including recent solo exhibitions at the Abraham Lincoln Museum, Springfield, IL, Tacoma Contemporary, WA, The Icehouse, Phoenix, AZ and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI. Gillis received his MFA from NYSCC at Alfred University and is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of Oregon.
