June Gillert (1952 - 2015)
June Gillert trained as a scientist in the 1970s, and joined the group when a role as a microbiologist drew her to the area in 1988. Her initial work in pencils then became a fascination with charcoal, which became the medium she first used for her preferred subject – birds.
There’s a progression from the naturalism of those early pieces to the more dreamlike painted work she started to develop for a group show in 2002. June’s interest in birds had started out as that of the fascinated naturalist, and as birds started to inhabit her sleeping hours, she depicted them with equal vividness in a mode more akin to magic realism.
With growing confidence, June’s work started to explore the wider world of personal symbols, a far cry from her initial training to be a scrupulously objective observer. Birds remain features in her work, the tone of which is changing as other elements enter the frame.
There’s a progression from the naturalism of those early pieces to the more dreamlike painted work she started to develop for a group show in 2002. June’s interest in birds had started out as that of the fascinated naturalist, and as birds started to inhabit her sleeping hours, she depicted them with equal vividness in a mode more akin to magic realism.
With growing confidence, June’s work started to explore the wider world of personal symbols, a far cry from her initial training to be a scrupulously objective observer. Birds remain features in her work, the tone of which is changing as other elements enter the frame.
