Pushing Your Boundaries Does Wonders For Creativity. Just Ask Designer And Artist Teresa Davis.
BY CHRISTINE DEORIO | APRIL 14, 2020
Collected, crafted and curated are the words artist and interior designer Teresa “Gigi” Davis uses to describe her aesthetic, as well as the common thread that unites her residential designs. “My motto has always been, ‘It’s the mix, not the match,’ ” she says. Davis’ creative eye and formal training, coupled with “incurable boredom and a need to push myself into uncharted territory in life and art,” have yielded an elegant array of interiors for clients in Davis’ former and current hometowns of Memphis and Denver, plus a portfolio of intriguing multimedia figure, landscape, and abstract studies. Luxe explores them here. @post31interiors
As an artist, what compelled you to explore the human form? I’ll never forget the first time I attempted to draw the human figure in college, and how completely captivated I was with the idea of recreating movement from this fluid subject.
How does your knowledge of fine art inform your interior design work? My interior design work has always included pieces from all disciplines: drawing, painting, photography, textiles and pottery. My art influence provides the character, warmth and sparkle that my clients appreciate. Art is an emotional visceral language communicating what intellectual language cannot.
How do you envision your latest artwork fitting into a home’s interiors? My work spans several genres, and you’ll see stylized traditional figures coexisting with unrecognizable deconstructed figures. Both styles partner perfectly with each other in any interior space. Although I prefer working large and love the power a bold piece brings to a room, I also do smaller paper pieces, many fitted into antique and vintage one of a kind frames.
And you love a good mix! My personal style is very much a collected, layered look; a visual conversation about living with things I love and am drawn to. I’ve always been crazy about one-of-a- kind pieces and those crafted by the human hand. I search long and hard for pieces that tell a story, and I am ecstatic when a client provides treasures to be incorporated in a project. It’s incredibly important to me to add this layer of interest to a project, rather than just “decorating” it.
A childhood love of all things art and design led Teresa/AKA Gigi to a BFA at the University of Kansas.
From her first attempt at drawing the nude figure 40 years ago, she was mesmerized with the study of the human form, and captivated with how to convey the dynamic, fluid energy of the human form on her paper.
Throughout Teresa’s 30 year marriage, raising 3 active, growing children, and moving about the country, her studies of anatomy, form, and expressive drawing always found a place in her life, wherever they were located.
While studying in France, Teresa was pleasantly gifted with the name “Gigi” as her new artist name from her French friends. Her current works, which now include original nudes drawn from life, abstracts based on shapes from the human form, and also serene landscapes, Gigi’s interpretation of memories of her visits to the iconic Versailles.
Gigi’s original art is sold through exclusive nation wide design and retail events, through her website under the “Shop” tab, and her Instagram site @gigidavisstudio
