Gabrielle's Artist Statment

My work is inspired by an interest in learning how to convey the humanity of the figure, in sculptural and drawn form. My parallel interest in ancient history and classical art, which includes a long history of representational figurative work, reinforces and informs my enthusiasm for making figurative work. I enjoy thinking about how tastes and styles change over centuries and how my art can speak to and fit within the long history of figurative sculpture. In my art, I strive to show not only the figure’s intricate anatomical anatomy, but its elusive psychology as well. I depict poses and scenes from my life, sometimes including everyday objects, to portray people as they exist to me. 

Recently, my focus has been to add movement and gesture back into my figures, emphasizing the flows of the body’s anatomy through surface texture. I believe humans are not always polished and pristine like ancient art shows, but are beautiful nonetheless. By adding movement to the surface, it helps to bring me closer to a depiction of not only someone’s outward appearance, but more generally the feeling of their form: adding more meaning by being less literal. My goal is to authentically convey humanity through art, exploring how people exist in space and interact with each other as well as what makes a figure seem alive, rather than just an imitation of outward appearances.