Jeff Gillette

Jeff Gillette (born 1959) is a contemporary American artist in Southern California. He is known for his "slumscape" paintings, which feature Disney characters in dystopian settings. He is cited as an inspiration for graffiti artist Banksy's 2015 Dismaland theme park installation, in which he was a featured artist.^[1]

Influences

Gillette was born in 1959 and grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. He cited the TV show "The Wonderful World of Disney" as an early source of creative inspiration. During a 1978 visit to Disneyland, he reportedly found the park's atmosphere unconvincing and left after a 30-minute stay. As an artist, he remained interested in Disney characters, especially Mickey Mouse.^[2]

Gillette dropped out of college in 1982 and traveled widely, visiting locations including the Himalayas and Calcutta, India (present-day Kolkata).^[3] He later became a volunteer with the Peace Corps. Many of the "slumscapes" he paints are directly inspired by the residential slums he witnessed in his extensive travels.^[4]

After moving for a teaching position in Orange County, California (where Disneyland is based), he became inspired to combine the two distinct aesthetics of residential wastelands and theme parks in his work.

Gillette is a self-described pessimist, influenced by the writings of German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. He describes his work as "taking the things people love and imposing the worst-case scenario [on them]".^[5]

Exhibitions

Gillette has exhibited his work since 1997, with his first solo show at Broadway Gallery in Santa Ana, California.^[6]

The style for which he is currently known emerged in a solo show called "Slumscapes – Blasphemy Blowout", which depicted American fast-food restaurants such as McDonald's against backdrops of slums and well-known cartoon figures juxtaposed with religious iconography.^[7]

In 2010, Gillette held a solo show at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica titled "Dismayland," which attracted the attention of British artist Banksy.^[8] The exhibition marked the beginning of the style for which he later became recognized.

In 2017, he mounted a solo show at Gregorio Escalante Gallery in Los Angeles called "Total Dismay", which turned the exhibition space into an "art landfill".^[9] In the show, he premiered a series of new paintings mounted on walls and priced for thousands of dollars, while the floor was littered with paper prints that patrons would walk on top of and were for sale for $5.^[10][11]

He also sells his art online.^[12]

Dismaland

2015-09-20 Dismaland

In Spring 2015, Banksy contacted Gillette through his manager to purchase a “Minnie Hiroshima” painting.^[13] Afterward, he invited Gillette into a secretive group exhibition called Dismaland, a temporary art project organized by Banksy and built in the resort town of Weston-super-Mare, three hours outside of London.^[14]

The pop-up would be a fully functioning theme park designed as "a sinister twist on Disneyland". It opened on August 21, 2015, and ran until September 27. Banksy described it as a "family theme park unsuitable for children".

Dismaland from Clevedon Road

Including Gillette, the show featured 58 artists, such as Bill Barminski, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Peter Kennard, and Ben Long. Gillette premiered six new paintings on canvas for the pop-up as part of his Dismayland series. Banksy created ten new works and funded the construction of the exhibition himself. Approximately 4,000 tickets were available for sale per day, priced at £3 each.^[15]