St. Thomas-born artist Shansi Miller is now showing the exhibition “J’Ouvert” until the end of May at Bajo El Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction, St. John, USVI.
Description (from Bajo el Sol): Throughout the month of May we will be featuring new work by Shansi Miller. Miller was born and raised on the island of St. Thomas and is celebrated for her ability to capture the vibrancy of the V.I. culture in which she was raised. She is best known as an oil painter whose photorealist narrative works are an ongoing exploration of the nuances of Creole identity and history on her home island.
Her pieces, which are highly sought after by local and mainland collectors, are immediately distinguishable by their careful execution, intricate details, compositional complexity, and rich narratives.
Shansi began her formal studies with the artist and teacher Tom Saint
Vincent. Later she studied at the Corcoran School of Art in Washington D.C. before returning to the Virgin Islands and continuing her studies. Shansi has traveled extensively in Europe, Asia and the Caribbean, broadening her artistic scope as her skills as a storyteller.
The majority of Shansi’s pieces currently on display at Bajo El Sol Gallery are a series of studies done for a large narrative oil painting titled ‘J’ouvert.’ The series gives a rare glimpse into the artist’s meticulous process – the many variations and stagings conceived of with local models before a final work is complete. The details in each study also speak to the artist’s technical mastery and her uncommon ability to capture the intrinsic joy and communal revelry of the Virgin Islands’ festival arts traditions. In ‘Jouvert’ and its studies, each individual figure is bursting with inner life while also contributing to the proud and deeply-felt sense of heritage embodied in the collective fete. Happy St. Thomas Carnival to all!
St. Thomas-born artist Shansi Miller is now showing the exhibition “J’Ouvert” until the end of May at Bajo El Sol Gallery in Mongoose Junction, St. John, USVI. Description (from Bajo el Sol): Throughout the month of May we will be featuring new work by Shansi Miller. Miller was born and raised on the island of St. Thomas and is
