Interview
Mitchell Gibson
Dr. Mitchell is a medical doctor and psychiatrist who is a graduate of Richmond Senior High School and UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. Gibson began painting during his medical residency at The Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia in 1987. He studied abstract and realistic art forms for over 20 years and he retired from the practice of medicine in 2005 in order to seriously pursue his art. Gibson has sold print and original art pieces to clients all over the world. Gibson displays a number of his original pieces at his private gallery in Greensboro, North Carolina.
Mitchell Gibson received the Jury Prize for Creativity in a competition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Paris, and his work is published in the Encyclopedia of Living Arts and New Art International listing of World Contemporary Modern Artists, and Miami International. Gibson received the International Prize Michelangelo "The Genius of Italy on July 22th, 2023 at the Teatro Italia - Rome, to the presence of collectors, and critics. He will also be awarded The International Leornado Davinci Prize on April 13th, 2024 at the National Museum of Science and Technology "Leonardo da Vinci" - Milan, to the presence of collectors, journalists, politicians and art lovers. He was named artist of the week by Contemporary Art Collector magazine and was selected as One of The World’s Top Artists to watch in 2024 by the magazine. Gibson will be featured in a 2024 edition of Artist Closeup Contemporary Art Magazine.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born in a small tobacco farming community. My parents did not get along well and they fought quite often. One night my father came home and found a man in bed with my mother. Unfortunately, my father was a violent man who was very fond of guns. He shot the man several times. The man bled while hiding behind several us kids before the police came and took him. My mother took the children and we moved in with her parents. My father wouldn’t let us take our things and we wore bloody clothes for a week until my grandparents bought new clothes.. That trauma defined the early years of my life. I discovered that I could escape from the chaos through drawing. At first it was just an escape, but I quickly discovered that drawing made me feel better. The pictures and images that I produced helped me draw down energy from heaven. To my child’s mind, it helped me make sense of the world. Art gave me a sense of peace and control.”
What inspires you?
“My art still revolves around visions and dreams. There are exhibition halls in my visions that I continually draw inspiration from. Art provides me a place of peace and solace. I believe that my work helps me draw down beauty and peace from the heavens.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Much of what I paint still revolves around visions and dreams. There are galleries and exhibition halls in my visions and dreams that I continually draw inspiration from. Art continues to provide me a place of peace and solace. I totally retired from the practice of medicine a number of years ago to devote myself to painting. I still believe that my work helps me draw down a little piece of beauty and peace from the heavens.”
How would you describe your work?
“I strive to find a place where emotion meets spirit, deeper than thought.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Calder, Mondrian, DaVinci.”
“Much of what I paint still revolves around visions and dreams.”
What is your creative process like?
“I graduated college and got a scholarship to medical school. I began to meditate regularly during med school. In order to deal with the stress. While I meditated I began to experience visions. I didn’t understand them ar first, but I began to draw what I saw. After a few months, I had reams of images that I kept to myself. When I completed med school, I began a very stressful psychiatry internship and residency. I began meditating for longer periods of time. It helped with the stress of learning to treat serious mental illness and the conditions that often accompanied it. My art began to evolve and grow, often taking on a life of its own. I would often paint for hours at a time, neglecting, even to eat or sleep. I began to study the great artists and I found that I was particularly drawn to the surrealists, cubists, and abstract expressionist styles. I loved using acrylics, oils, and pastels. I didn’t show anyone my work. To a certain extent, I didn’t think that i was very good. ”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“I see the artist as a visual philosopher. We strive to connect higher form, thought and imagination with the lower worlds of illusion. Our role in society is to magnify the role of higher consciousness in the world.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“My work has been exhibited at the Chosen Image Gallery, The Lucien Crump Art Gallery in Philadelphia, The Arizona State University Downtown Center Gallery, Gallery Q Tucson Arizona, The Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Agora Gallery in Soho New York, The African American Museum of Art in Deland Florida, The Deland International Fall Festival in Florida, The Art Scope Internet Visual Gallery, The AngelNet International Exhibition, and The Museum of Modern Art Paris, See Me New York, Chelsea New York, Saatchi Art, Pixels Art, Fine Art America, New York, Times Square.”
Website: www.artbymitchellgibson.com
Instagram: @Mitchell_Gibson_8999
