Lasting Connections

Gallery owner George Billis’ collection reflects his lifelong love of art and the relationships he has developed with artists and collectors.

By John O’Hern Photography by Francis Smith

George Billis liked to draw when he was a boy, and when he got into high school, he enjoyed taking art classes and won a Gold Key Award in the Scholastic Art Awards competition that is held across the country. His career segued, however, into a graduate degree in arts administration and into collecting. One of his artist friends, Brian Novatny, suggested he open a gallery in New York to sell their work. In 1997, George Billis Gallery was the 12th gallery to open in the burgeoning Chelsea Art District. “The rent was cheap, then,” he says. “The galleries were open Wednesday through Sunday and collectors could easily visit all of them. We developed a client base immediately.”On the left, the flower print is a Ross Bleckner etching that hangs above a ceramic vase by Alice Federico. Above the fireplace is Brian Novatny’s Two Men, Two Women and a Chair, 2001, oil on canvas. On the right wall is After Aristophanes, 1994-1995, by Tim Rollins (1955-2017) and K.O.S. The white ceramic sculpture behind the sofa is by Kenny Scharf.

Danny Heller’s Flight Center, 2019, oil on canvas, hangs above the desk. The tall ceramic piece on the desk is by Alice Federico. On the right is Steve Greene’s No Parking, 1995, mixed media and collage on panel.

In 2004, he opened a second gallery on the West Coast in Culver City, California. He has relocated his East Coast gallery to Westport, Connecticut, during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Most of the work I still show is artists that helped me in the beginning, and they in turn have introduced me to other artists,” he explains. “I enjoy visiting galleries when I travel and have found artists through art fairs. I have been very fortunate to have a wonderful stable of loyal artists, most of which we show on both coasts. Tressa Williams in our Los Angeles gallery has brought on amazing talented artists.”The tall ceramic vase on the window ledge is by Alice Federico. Next to it is Untitled, 2003, an oil on panel by Kenny Harris. Panel #16 from The Century of Progress Museum: The Robert Moses Project, oil on two panels, 1994, by Lawrence Gipe, hangs to the right. A blue-green ceramic vase by Federico is on the glass table. On the lower shelf of the table is a ceramic teapot by Hayne Bayless. Above it is an etching by Ross Bleckner. Above the fireplace is Brian Novatny’s oil on canvas, Two Men, Two Women and a Chair, 2001.

Attending Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, he says, “I was exposed to artists making a living.

I attended lectures at the Carnegie Museum and began to blossom into loving the objects the artists were creating, especially glass, sculpture and ceramics. I knew I wanted to be a collector and really own objects, but I wasn’t making much money until about five years after graduate school.”George Billis in his Connecticut home in front of Josh Dorman’s The Tower, Red Skies, 2008, mixed media collage on panel.

Billis has always loved sculptural and utilitarian artisan pieces. “In 1998 I visited the Philadelphia Museum of Art with the artist Bill Scott. In the gift store, they had a jug head by Chester Hewell, it made me laugh and I bought it. Bill said, ‘Well, if you really like it.’ I think he was being a little sarcastic. It still makes me laugh and it was the start of my ceramic collection,” he says, and adding, “For me, ceramics was a way to collect and hold and sometimes use the objects I purchased. And, for the most part, they were affordable. Alice Federico gave me a lesson in throwing in her upstate New York studio, which made me further appreciate the skill needed to create her vases and objects in general. Most people don’t see the amount of work that goes into making art. The experience gave me more insight.”Behind the piano is an acrylic and sticks on panel piece from 1987 by Charles Arnoldi. A face jug by Chester Hewell sits on the floor and a ceramic vessel by John Hopkins is on the table in the foreground.

The ceramic pitcher is by Hayne Bayless. Alexis Rockman’s Cock Robin, 1998, oil on canvas, hangs above the sofa. Stephen Magsig’s Greenwich and Bank, 2005, oil on linen, is on the far right wall. On the near right wall is Roland Kulla’s Metro North, 2007, acrylic on canvas.

Billis has worked with artists over the years, furthering his understanding of the work of making art, an understanding he can share with his collectors.

In the house he built a year ago on the Connecticut shore, he has been able to bring out more of his collection that has been stored in closets and under beds as well as in the houses of his mother and brother. “I’m seeing things I haven’t seen in years,” he says. Even in the new house, though, if you look under the beds and in the closets, you’ll find more art. With 7-year-old twin boys and another 4-year-old son who have discovered the joy of jumping on their beds, some stored art has been moved.

One of the twins has decided he is an artist and tacked two of his works up in the gallery. He priced them at $4 and $6. They sold immediately. Following his success, the next pieces he tacked up were priced at $15 and $20.Brian Novatny’s Two Men and a Chair, 2001, oil and watercolor on canvas, is on the left and his Man Walking with Turquoise Shirt, 1997, oil on canvas is above the counter. All the ceramic pieces are by Hayne Bayless.

Kurt Solmssen’s Yellow Boat Study—Evening, 2009, oil on linen, hangs in a bathroom.

Billis collects some of the artists he represents and visits other galleries, auctions and sales. “I form relationships with the artists, so the art has more personal content,” he says. “Tim Rollins had opened a studio on the same floor as mine and let me sell his pieces. I knew Alexis Rockman and always loved his work. I was able to acquire Cock Robin when it came up for auction. Sometimes a collector will give me a smart piece of advice.Nicholas Evans Cato’s Bridges, 2010, oil on linen, hangs in the dining area. On the upper shelf is a selection of ceramics by Heeseung Lee. On the far wall is Arm Pillow Series, 2004, mixed media, stitching, handmade koran paper, tarlatan by Ke-Sook Lee. Beneath it are Alice Federico ceramics and Woods, Norwich, a 1990 oil on panel by Lois Dodd. Beneath the Cato are, from left, Watertower, 2005, acrylic on canvas, by James Willis; a ceramic teapot by Chuck Aydlett; Woman in Gray Skirt and Yellow Shirt, 1998, oil on panel, by Brian Novatny; a ceramic bowl by Suzanne Hill; Hunt Slonem’s Finches, 2000, oil on panel; and a 20-inch tall vase by Alice Federico.

“One collector owned a large piece by Charles Arnoldi and told me a smaller piece was coming up at auction at Bergamot Station. I spent slightly more than usual to get the piece. It has always hung in my house,” he adds.

“I love living with art,” Billis states. “There are no colors on the walls here or in my apartment in New York. Everything is white. I’m not afraid of any kind of art on my walls.”Three, oil on canvas, by Christopher Stott, hangs above the bed. To the left is Josh Dorman’s Precipice, 2009, mixed media and collage on panel. To the right is Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, 1998, mixed media on canvas, by Tim Rollins and K.O.S. The small painting is Toy Rooster, 2003, oil on panel, by Maryam Amiryani.

Just as he has developed trusting relationships with his artists and his collectors, giving and receiving advice, he has developed a relationship with his collection. “I really want to look at it, he says. “If I take a piece away, there is a void. The mind can’t feed on it anymore.” —