GINA HIGGINS
AMERICAN-NOIR
Born in New Orleans, and raised in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, Gina
developed a passion for art at a very young age, and credits her artistic
abilities to the environment in which she grew up. Her mother is a concert
pianist and recording artist, father a noted LA architect and photographer,
and cousin, a prominent northwest contemporary artist. Her childhood was
immersed in an exchange of art and music, as creativity always took center
stage.
Accepted for direct admission to the University of Southern California Roski
School of Fine Arts at barely 17, she enrolled in the graphic arts
curriculum, setting her sights on becoming a fashion illustrator. Fiercely
independent, she left the university 2 years into the program, to travel to
Europe, where she continued to refine her artistic technique, receiving
formal training in figurative drawing and painting in Paris, and Florence,
Italy. Upon returning to Los Angeles, she completed her BFA; however,
European culture had left a profound influence on her style as a commercial
artist. Her avant-garde illustrations were soon sought after by such clients
such as Liz Claiborne, Etienne Eigner, Alexander McQueen, CBS and MGM
studios, and Polygram records among others.
Gina has also emerged as a highly desirable figurative painter. Her
technique is both spontaneous and controlled, a delicate blending of
photo-realism with evocative imagery. The urban-theme canvases are elegant
and mysterious, unmistakably influenced by her travels.
She can be found in her studio, amidst an eclectic arrangement of sketches
and notes for future paintings, canvases in various stages of completion,
and never without music. Whether it be Grunge or Chopin, she explains that
each painting is directly inspired by music, an integral part of her
creativity, that not only influences the final result, but allows her to
give as an artist, what she terms, “the very best expression of my creative
process.”
Gina’s works have been
exhibited in galleries across the west coast and the midwest, and are
included in numerous celebrity and corporate collections.
|