I am a painter whose work subverts the hallowed tradition of painting by incorporating everyday materials and processes, like fabric, sewing or embroidery. I think of myself as a crafty trickster, by creating illusion of depth and space one would experience with paint on canvas.
My process begins with elements of chance and ends with intention. I start with a very large piece of white cotton muslin fabric stretched on a large frame on the wall. I use acrylic ink, wet into wet technique that soaks the fibers. The acrylic ink expands into larger, diffused shapes. When the fabric dries, activities move to the floor, where I cut through the fabric, and this results in the atmospheric shapes becoming dislocated. This process continues, over and over. The process is repeated with chance and intention, until there is a balance of color and space in the work, while also maintaining some evidence of seams.
The fabric is semi-translucent and when stretched over a frame, reveals the extra fabric of the seam from the back, creating an architectural white line that moves throughout the surface as well as the pictorial space. This is another surprise to the viewer as they think the white lines are painted. The act of cutting leads to new forms, dynamic connections and illusions of depth, and the seams disrupt colorful forms that are carefully rendered and then sewn together. Using this fabric creates a discrete seam that one can only see if they look very closely. It is satisfying when the viewer is surprised by this discovery.
After, I make small sketches to determine how I will respond to the underlying surface, I approach the surface with acrylic or oil paint, allowing for connections or contrasts between the layers. Color radiates through the pictorial space, suggestive of pattern though never achieving the regularity of pattern. Sometimes extruded (using cake decorating tools) paint or embroidery are added to again challenge tradition, but also pay homage to “women’s work.”
My national group exhibition experience includes group exhibitions at The Painting Center, Curator Gallery, Kathryn Markel Fine Art, and The High Line, in New York City, Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn, Miami International Airport Gallery (MIA) in Miami, Florida, The Castle Gallery at the College of New Rochelle, Lehman College Art Gallery, Bronx, NY, Providence College in Providence, RI, Zinc Contemporary in Seattle, WA, and The Tang Teaching Museum, in Saratoga Springs, NY. She has had several one-person shows at such places as ZINC contemporary, Seattle WA, Wilson Gallery at LeMoyne College, The Arts Center of the Capital Region, Troy, NY, Nicole Fiacco Gallery, Hudson, NY, and Yates Gallery at Siena College. Her work may also be viewed in the Pierogi Flat Files, in NYC. Gina has been in residence at the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency, MacDowell, Constance Saltonstall Foundation, the Ragdale Foundation, The Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, Inc (VCCA), and Millay Arts. She was also a Visiting Artist at The American Academy of Rome in Italy in 2014. Her work has been mentioned in the Brooklyn Rail and The New York Times.
