Meet Gabriella Gentile | Mixed Media Artist & Adjunct Professor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabriella Gentile and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabriella, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
When I first began my career as an artist, I knew that I wanted to maintain an active CV and an updated portfolio. I spent nearly all of my free time creating new pieces, looking for open calls, or driving to and from my jobs in the art field. One of my first jobs in the arts was as a teaching artist 1.5 hours away from my (then) home.

As time went on, I figured out how to prioritize what work needed to be done quickly and when it was “okay” to take a break. I believe I was so immersed in “hustle culture” that I equated the lack of free time to success. After some time, I was able to relocate closer to where I would have more job opportunities and eliminate my 3-hour long commute.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a mixed media sculpture artist who works mainly in ceramics. I also work heavily in fiber / textiles and often in cast iron, cast resin, printmaking, and collage.

My work is mainly political and social commentary from a feminist perspective. I use my work to portray both the beautiful façade as well as the grotesque reality of our society through sculpture, print, and illustration. I use pieces of my own life experiences, political views, and spirituality to portray how I experience and interact with the world around me. My work looks at historic and current representations of women and how we have been and still are being treated by society, the government, and mainstream media.

My chosen materials are to represent the way women and AFAB people are expected to behave (passive, beautiful, small) and how their value changes over time and as the age. Like the human body, my materials will begin to deteriorate in some way (rust, fade, shatter).

I am very proud of where I am in my career. I was hired as an adjunct professor in the fall of 2023 to to teach ceramics. When I first interviewed to be a teaching artist at an art center in February 2020, I never thought I would be working in higher education. There is so much I’ve learned in such a short time in both my art and in my career as a teacher. Much of it has come from experience in the classroom and experimenting with different materials.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Up until its closure back in December I would always take people from out of town to the Banana Factory in southside, if nothing else, to see my studio. Now I would have to opt for the Steelstacks as an interesting historical site. Popping over to the Allentown Art Museum or Northampton Community College’s East 40 would also be pretty high on my list.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to shoutout my partner Ryan for always being with me through the best and worst of it, my friend and former professor / mentor Katie Hovencamp for pushing me to do my best and for helping me navigate the art world post grad, and lastly my mom, my dad, and my Uncle Joe, who supported me from the very beginning.

Website: https://www.ggentileart.com/

Instagram: @gabby_m_gentile

Image Credits
Photo of artist and large fiber piece – Ryan Faherty
Last Image of artist in fiber cocoon – Katie Hovencamp
All other photos – Gabriella Gentile (artist)