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About: Welcome
G A B R I E L L A C H A L L I S
Gabriella Challis, a contemporary fine artist from New Zealand, specializes in life-like portraits and has created various figurative and conceptual art. She predominantly employs charcoal as her medium, with a clear emphasis on capturing the catharsis of her subjects.
Challis earned a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts with a major in Painting from Auckland University of Technology. She was honoured with the Eden Arts Top Artist Award during her final year of study. In 2019, her artwork "Everything but the Bathroom" was awarded a high merit in the prestigious New Zealand Parkin Drawing Prize. Gabriella's art was recently selected for inclusion in the 2022 Australian Open Art Ball Collection.
Private buyers from New Zealand and abroad eagerly seek out Challis' work, with some of her pieces currently held in the collection of well-known philanthropist and patron of the arts, Sir James Wallace.
Following her education in fine arts, Challis spent five years working and residing between New Zealand and New York. She has since relocated to Melbourne, Australia.
FROM THE ARTIST ...
As an artist, my practice is rooted in exploring the concept of identity and its relationship to social adaptation. Over time, I have become interested in how our sense of identity has become increasingly detached from the individual, particularly in the current cultural climate, where it has become easier than ever to adopt and discard different identities.
With each new piece, I seek to examine how we can reshape ourselves and the world around us and how this process can leave a lasting impact on the culture in which we live. I am particularly drawn to graphite and charcoal as my medium, as it allows me to create impressionistic works that reflect the fleeting nature of identity.
As my career has progressed, I have continued to push the boundaries of my art, exploring new mediums and forms of expression. In 2021-2022, I expanded into the world of digital art with two NFT collections that explore the intersection of analog and digital art. This new direction has allowed me to take my work in exciting new directions, and I am excited to continue exploring this realm in the future.
I have a new series in the works set for release in 2023. This series will continue to explore themes of identity and social adaptation.
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