To hold imagination, memory, reality.
Dominance pivots between tension and peace, flow and pause, more and enough.
Layers of evidence laid down, keeping us from forgetting the passage of time.
And after brushing away the dust of the day, there is the discovery of a moment exposed.
Gabriella’s mixed media paintings reflect on the emotional landscapes we traverse in connecting to the world around us. Her work investigates themes of vulnerability, transformation and the contrast between movement and stillness. She aims to give a voice to nature and experimentation with alternative tools is a common thread throughout the work.
Kirby holds a BFA from Tufts University and The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as well as an AA with High Distinction in Apparel Design from the Art Institute of Portland.
She has exhibited work in galleries throughout the Hudson Valley and NYC, as well as Portland, OR; Vancouver, WA; Laguna Beach, CA; London, England; and invited to contribute to the exhibition “Preparing” at Los Angeles' Craft Contemporary Museum.
Kirby designed and constructed “An Unearthening,” a public art commission at North Mountain Park Nature Center in Ashland, Oregon, and developed an environmental art education program serving schools and at-risk youth groups.
Her paintings have been featured in Vanity Fair London 2023 and 2024. Her work is held in the private collection at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She lives and works in upstate New York.
CURRICULUM VITAE
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, in partnership with Tufts University, Boston, MA
2005-2009
Associates Degree in Apparel Design, High Honors Award
Art Institute of Portland, Portland, OR
2010-2013
Selected Solo & Group Exhibitions
2024
Two-person show — Improvisation, TKG Real Estate Gallery, Kingston, NY
2023
Paperworks, B.J. Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY
Members Show, Kleinert James Center for the Arts, Woodstock, NY
2022
Oppositions, The Holy Art Gallery, London, England
Women In Art, Las Laguna Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2021
Solo Exhibit — Gathered, Absorbed, Carried, Women’s Work Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
Something Blue, Emerge Gallery NY, Saugerties, NY
Friends of WWA-Invitational Group Show, Women’s Work Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
Petit, Emerge Gallery NY, Saugerties, NY
Small Works, Medford Arts Center, Medford, NJ
2020
Solo Exhibit — Episode, Salvage Works, Portland, OR
Luna, Splendorporium Gallery, Portland, OR
Artist Contributor for Preparing, Craft Contemporary Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Rhythm, Columbia Center for the Arts, Hood River, OR
Community Art Show, Lady Fern, Parkdale, OR
Masks, Art JuXtapose Gallery, Rosendale, NY
Until We Meet Again, Treat Gallery, New York, NY
Shown From Afar: Art during the Pandemic, Women’s Work Art Gallery, Poughkeepsie, NY
Abstrakt, Emerge Gallery NY, Saugerties, NY
2019
Small Works, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY
New New Show, River Street Studios, Portland, OR
Lady Makers Winter Show, Portland, OR
2018
Small Works, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY
Politiks: The Art of Deception, Art at the Cave Gallery, Vancouver, WA
2013
Real Things, Enso Wine Bar, Portland, OR
2009
Oil and Milk, Baag Gallery, Boston, MA
ArtForce, Cambridge Arts Council Gallery, Cambridge, MA
Permanent Collection
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Main Library, Boston, MA
Public Art Commission
“An Unearthening” North Mountain Park Nature Center, Ashland, OR, 2010
Designed and built the site-specific, public art installation, as well as developed and taught environmental art lesson plans for visiting student and at-risk youth groups. The program has since been taught annually by the center.