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Francesca Gabbiani: Mutations

Past exhibition
29 June - 29 July 2023
  • Overview
  • Installation Views
  • Works
  • Press
Overview
Francesca Gabbiani, Mutations

Wilding Cran Gallery is pleased to present Mutations, a solo exhibition of Francesca Gabbiani's material explorations of Southern California and the vulnerable narrative of paradise consumed.

 

Drawing inspiration from her experience living in Los Angeles, Francesca Gabbiani has been captivated by the phenomena and mythology of wildfires, returning to them over and over in an effort to dissect their psychological impact upon our social, environmental, and emotional landscapes. Towing the fine line between enchantment and trepidation, Gabbiani's intricate, labor-intensive collages evoke the fragility of the paper medium and the artist's devotional attention to beauty, while addressing the pervasive anxiety of climate disaster. 

 

Throughout the exhibition, the image of the palm tree stands out as an icon of Gabbiani's oeuvre. Despite the fact that most palm tree species are non-native to Southern California, their historic importation into the region led to the mythic construction of a new Eden on the Pacific, a sheltered dreamscape of leisure and endless summer. Within Hot Panorama II, 2022, two palms stand as beacons, aglow in flames against a backdrop of billowing smoke and ash. Despite the enticing hues of  orange, yellow, red, green, and hot white, the scene captures a precarious moment, granting the viewer time to embrace the allure - and fear - of the unknown. 

 

In an effort to shatter the artifice of man-made paradise, Gabbiani uses markers such as chain link fences, telephone poles, burnt-out cars, and swimming pools to point to the synergistic relationship between the industrial and natural worlds. Amidst the delicately layered works on paper, a short film titled Sea of Fire screens within the gallery space, granting movement and sound to the artist's story. Opening upon a theatrical stage, a cherubic Lucifer peeks from behind red curtains, beckoning us into the flames. Breaching the gap between inferno and seascape, the film follows the journey of a marionette spider, ushering the viewer through a horrific blaze of obstacles to the fixed horizon line and ebbing tides of the Pacific Ocean. 

 

By granting subjectivity to the life-sustaining realities of our planet, Francesca Gabbiani asks us not to look away in fear of what we cannot control. Despite decay and destruction, Mutations reminds us that wildfire is not an illicit attack, but a call to empathize and communicate with nature. For thousands of years, leading up to the institution of fire suppression laws, controlled fire was used to purify deadened landscape, fertilizing soil for new life. It is through this lens that blazing palms, ashen skies, and phosphorescent seas challenge us to reimagine our role in the shifting landscape of the earth and its inhabitants.

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Download Press Release
Download List of Works
Installation Views
  • Mutation Install 6
  • Mutation Install 5
  • Mutation Install 3
  • Mutation Install 7
  • Mutation Install 1
  • Mutation Install 8
  • Mutation Install 2
  • Mutation Install 13
  • Mutation Install 4
  • Mutation Install 11
  • Mutation Install 9
  • Mutation Install 15
  • Mutation Install 14
  • Mutation Install 10
  • Mutation Install 18
  • Mutation Install 16
  • Mutation Install 17
  • mutation-install_6.jpg?focal=49,47
Works
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Hot Panorama II, 2022
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Hot Panorama II, 2022
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    61 3/4 x 82 inches
    156.8 x 208.3 cm.
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Phosflorescence VII, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Phosflorescence VII, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    22½ x 30 inches
    57.15 x 76.20 cm
    26 x 33½ inches (framed)
    66.04 x 85.09 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Moody Scape 7, 2020
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Moody Scape 7, 2020
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    8¾ x 15¼ inches
    22.23 x 38.73 cm
    11½ x 18 inches (framed)
    29.21 x 45.72 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Mutation L, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Mutation L, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    14 x 11 inches
    35.56 x 27.94 cm
    16½ x 13½ inches (framed)
    41.91 x 34.29 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Hot Panorama III, 2022
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Hot Panorama III, 2022
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    60 1/4 x 80 inches
    153 x 203.2 cm.
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Mutation XLVIII, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Mutation XLVIII, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    22½ x 30 inches
    57.15 x 76.20 cm
    26 x 33½ inches (framed)
    66.04 x 85.09 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Closer, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Closer, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    12½ x 17½ inches
    31.75 x 44.45 cm
    15½ x 20 inches (framed)
    39.37 x 50.80 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Sea of Fire, 2022
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Sea of Fire, 2022
    Single channel digital video Sound, color, 7:30 min. Soundtrack by Eddie Ruscha
    Edition of 5
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Dead White at Noon, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Dead White at Noon, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    34¼ x 35 inches
    87.00 x 88.90 cm
    37½ x 38½ inches (framed)
    95.25 x 97.79 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Phosflorescence VIII, 2022
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Phosflorescence VIII, 2022
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    60 x 84 3/4 inches
    152.4 x 215.3 cm.
  • Francesca Gabbiani, I Hear the Fire Singing in the Wire, 2020
    Francesca Gabbiani
    I Hear the Fire Singing in the Wire, 2020
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    27¼ x 62 inches
    69.22 x 157.48 cm
    30¼ x 64½ inches (framed)
    76.84 x 163.83 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Hot Panorama V, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Hot Panorama V, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    60 x 81 inches
    152.4 x 205.7 cm.
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Mutation XLIX, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Mutation XLIX, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    35 x 40 inches
    88.90 x 101.60 cm
    38¼ x 43¼ inches (framed)
    97.16 x 109.86 cm (framed)
  • Francesca Gabbiani, Mutation XLVI, 2023
    Francesca Gabbiani
    Mutation XLVI, 2023
    Ink, gouache, acrylic, and colored paper on paper
    35 x 40 inches
    88.90 x 101.60 cm
    38¼ x 43¼ inches (framed)
    97.16 x 109.86 cm (framed)
Press
  • ‘Mutations’ Capturing These Odd and Unsettling Times

    Jody Zellen, ARTNOW LA, July 25, 2023
  • Francesca Gabbiani: Artforum MUST SEE

    Artforum editors, Artforum, July 7, 2023

Related artist

  • Francesca Gabbiani

    Francesca Gabbiani

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