Box Series

Gibbons' boxes are his environments, his still lifes and his visual voice. They speak to both him and his audience. Some figures confront while others recede, some welcome your gaze and others outright reject you. The limited color, subject and space create a powerfully focused and iconic image that expresses the artist's prejudices, apprehensions, aspirations and ideals. Gibbons draws themes and images from classical painters like Michelangelo, Ingres and Neo, and Classicist, Jacques-Louis David.

This series was inspired by the artist's 2004 trip to Paris and days spent at the Louvre. Gibbons had been painting the classical figure for years within minimal environments that would often enter the negative space of the form. The box has become the anchor for his message and the framework of his art. It is the package that separates his figures from our world and his art from other modern painting masters. Keep in mind, these works are nearly life-size, and in black and white oil.

"As we figuratively create boxes to put people in … I create figures and put them in boxes." – E. Gibbons









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