Frederick Features Artist Billi French

By Michaiah Varnes//

The low hum of classical‑jazz music drifted through the Vault of Visions Gallery on North Market Street as guests stepped inside, with their wine glasses in hand.  

The warm, easy energy set the stage for an art exhibit by Frederick artist Billi French, whose newest collection of acrylic paintings brought the community together on Feb. 14 for a night of memory, nostalgia and creative storytelling.  

French’s exhibition, “Be Kind, Rewind,” began with what she noticed among her peers.  

“I started this collection of millennial-themed items because I noticed that a lot of people in my age group were just feeling beaten down and depressed,” French said. “Maybe some were going through mid-life types of crises, even. The thing that seemed to pep everyone up was getting nostalgic, discussing some of their favorite things from their childhood, and just reminiscing about simpler times. So, I developed this series to bring a little joy to anyone who may be feeling that way.”   

French said she hoped the artwork would bring joy to and inspire her viewers. 

The series features bold color palettes, layered imagery and familiar motifs from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Visitors pointed and paused often, recognizing objects that shaped their own childhoods.   

French said she draws inspiration for her art from Frederick itself.  

“I love everything vintage. It’s one of the things I love about Frederick,” she said. “We have a ton of great history and great antique shops around town to dive into and kind of get lost in another time.”  

Wallpaper became a key element in the collection’s visual identity. Each painting incorporates patterned backgrounds that echo the homes many millennials grew up in.   

“The wallpaper in this series ties into the nostalgia from the ‘90s,” French said. “A lot of us grew up in wallpapered homes, then it was the style. Since then, a lot of us have removed the wallpaper and moved on to painted walls, but I think wallpaper is coming back. It is at my house at least,” she said with a laugh.  

French is a fine art painter, self-published children’s book creator and the owner of BF Studios, her graphic design company. While her work as an author no longer intersects much with her paintings, her design background still shapes her artistic process.   

“I own my own graphic design studio, we just passed 10 years in business and that does help me when developing artwork, especially in the planning phase,” French said. “For this millennial series, I was able to mock up some of my ideas on the computer using different wallpaper backgrounds to see which vibe I really liked. Even though there are only 16 pieces in this series, I probably checked out over 400 wallpaper combination ideas.”  

Among the pieces, one stands out as her personal favorite.  

“The pencil sharpener is my fave, honestly,” she said. “Maybe it’s the artist in me, but back in the day, I loved the manual crank of the sharpener to get that perfectly done point to the pencil.”  

The Vault of Visions displayed 52 works in the main gallery from local, national and international artists, along with 17 pieces in the mezzanine gallery dedicated to French’s exhibit.  

Gallery manager Emma Sandler said French’s work was a natural match.   

“Billi French is an active member of Frederick’s creative community,” Sandler said. “In her fine art practice, she demonstrates a strong skill set informed by her graphic work. We were pleased to provide the venue for Billi’s debut solo exhibition, with the aim of uplifting an emerging local artist and increasing visibility within the broader Frederick arts scene.”  

A crowd favorite of the evening was French’s interactive prompt, which invited viewers to suggest millennial-era objects for potential future paintings. 

Sandler said the turnout exceeded expectations.   

“The number of attendees was most striking to me,” she said. “Because of the strong attendance, we will likely host artist talks and receptions in the main gallery space, with staggered viewing in the mezzanine gallery afterward.”  

French said viewers can typically find her work at the Vault of Visions. Beyond the millennial series, she is developing two additional bodies of work.   

“I’m kind of eclectic and have a couple unique art series that I’m developing,” French said. “One focuses on portraits of females and another focuses on bourbon and whiskey still-life paintings. These are a lot different than the pop-art style I used for these recent series, but I’m having a blast creating all of them, of course.”   

With “Be Kind, Rewind,” French captures moments that feel both familiar and newly reimagined as a reminder of how nostalgia can connect people at a time when many are searching for comfort. 

The exhibt will be on display at Vault of Visions Gallery, 1 N. Market St., through March.

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