About
b. 1975 in New York City, NY. Lives and works in New York.
My work is based on memories of real and imagined spaces that explore the concepts of time, history and narrative. Through painting, drawing, sculpture and site-specific installation art, I create seemingly collapsible and fragile spaces composed of interdependent elements that reflect the emotional, socio-economic and political charged places we live. Currently, I am interested in architecture, topography, and ethnography—especially the process of collecting, documenting, and interpreting visual material and oral histories as a means to understand the interconnectedness of people, places, and things. My interest in urban spaces is rooted in my childhood curiosity with drawing, space, materials, scale, stories, and play…and ultimately, developing a sense of place. By embracing the political unrest, social unease, and economic instability we face, I am also discovering our fragile and dynamic relationship between the built and natural environment while questioning individual and shared cultural space and identity. My travels, whether it’s a bike ride across a bridge or a plane ride across an ocean, continue to inform my work. They become metaphors of experience, where a shift in location, emotion, and activity, give rise to new ways of looking and interpreting.
Biography
Gisela Insuaste received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and her BA in Anthropology & Studio Art from Dartmouth College. She has participated in various exhibitions and projects in venues nationwide including Aljira-the Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ; Queens Musem of Art, Queens, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (MCA), IL; Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; Krannert Art Museum-UIUC, Champaign, IL; and Gallery 400-UIC; Bucket Rider Gallery, Thomas McCormick Gallery, Chicago, IL. She is a recipient of several grants and awards, including a Richard Driehaus/Artadia Emerging Artist Award, Illinois Arts Council artist grants, MacDowell Colony Artist Fellowships, and was recently nominated for a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Sculptors and Painters. Recent exhibitions include Satellite Gallery at the University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, Cuchifritos Gallery and ABC No Rio in New York, NY. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Education
2003 School of the Art Institute of Chicago • MFA • Painting & Drawing • Chicago, IL
1997 Dartmouth College • BA • Studio Art & Anthropology • Hanover, NH
Selected Exhibitions
2010 Ecstatic • Round Robbin Collective• Brooklyn, NY
2009 Verge Art Fair • Antidote • Miami, FL
Hanging Out • ABC No Rio • New York, NY
Aljira Emerge 10 • Aljira: A Center for Contemporary Art • Newark, NJ
ABC No Rio- Hanging Out • Cuchifritos • New York, NY
This…Is Your…, This…Is My • Satellite Space- University of Texas, San Antonio • San Antonio, TX
Flushtopia (collective): Queens International 4 • Queens Museum of Art • Queens, NY
2008 Así Somos • Local Project • Long Island City, NY
Bridge Art Fair Miami • antena • Miami, FL
ArtExposium 2008• Chicago, IL
olas y montañitas: walking, talking, seeing being • AIR • Museum of Contemporary Art • Chicago, IL (solo)
Unchartered: ImaginaryLandscapes • Halley Valley Market • San Francisco, CA
Landscapes of Experience and Imagination: Explorations by Midwest Latina/o Artists • Krannert Art Museum- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign • Urbana, IL
Here, There, Everywhere • Chicago Cultural Center, Exhibit Hall • Chicago, IL
“Water” • Art Gallery- Indiana University Northwest • Gary, IN
2007 water breaths • Northeastern Illinois University Gallery • Chicago, IL (solo)
Moving Through Medium • St. Mary’s College, Moreau Art Galleries • Notre Dame, IN
cuando llegare • Bucket Rider Gallery • Chicago, IL (solo)
2006 Aqua Art Miami2006 • Bucket Rider Gallery • Miami
COMA 2006 • The California Occidental Museum of Art • Chicago, IL
Milwaukee International Art Fair •Milwaukee, WI
Lo Romantico- Chicago’s Latino/a Art • Glass Curtain Gallery • Columbia College Chicago • Chicago, IL
2005 Aqua Art Miami2005 • Bucket Rider Gallery • Miami
FIAC 2005 • Bucket Rider Gallery • Paris, France
caminando inesperadamente • Gallery 400: At The Edge- Innovative Art in Chicago • University of Illinois, Chicago • Chicago, IL• Chicago, IL (essay)
Into the Woods:Contemporary artists on nature • Thomas McCormick Gallery • Chicago, IL
Centrally Located:The Artadia & Richard H. Driehaus Foundation 2004 Artist Awards• Chicago Cultural Center• Chicago, IL (catalog)
Parallel Utterances • Three Arts Club • Chicago, IL (with Yvette Kaiser)
aerial nomads • Bucket Rider Gallery • Chicago, IL (solo)
Research • Northern Illinois University Art Gallery • Chicago, IL (catalog)
2004 Untitled Memories at 6310 m • Polvo Art Studio • Chicago, IL (solo)
functionvariable • Barcelona, Spain Commonwealth Gallery • Madison, WI
2003 Clandestino • Bucket Rider Gallery • Chicago, IL (solo)
Peter Miller Gallery • Project Room • Chicago, IL
Anti-Spacesuit: The Dirty Future • Gallery 2 • Chicago, IL
Gallery 2 • MFA Thesis Exhibition • Chicago, IL
2002 Home/works • Betty Rymer Gallery • Chicago, IL
2000 Encuentros Interculturales: Gisela Insuaste y Franco Flores• Casa de La Cultura Ecuatoriana Nucleo Manabi & Nucleo Chimborazo • Ecuador
Awards & Grants
2008 Selected for: 12x12 New Work: New Artists, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL
Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Individual Artist Awardees Grant
2007 Nominated for Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant
Illinois Arts Council Governor’s International Exchange Grant- Barcelona, Spain
Can Serrat International Residency Visual Art Support Stipend
2006 Nominated for Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant
MacDowell Colony Fellowship
2005 Illinois Arts Council Finalist Visual Art Award
MacDowell Colony Fellowship
2004 Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Individual Emerging Artist Award
Vermont Studio Center Full Fellowship Award
2003 Carrie Ellen Tuttle Fellowship • School of the Art Institute of Chicago
MFA Fellowship •School of the Art Institute of Chicago
2000 Cultural Grant "Identidad y Memoria: Experiencias Interculturales" • American Embassy • Quito, Ecuador
1999-00 Richard D. Lombard Alumni Public Service Fellowship • Dartmouth College
1998 Center for Folk-life and Cultural Heritage Research Grant • Smithsonian Institute • Washington, DC
Office of Residential Life Purchase Prize • Dartmouth College
1996 Joan Sloan International Internship Grant • Dartmouth College
Artist Residencies/Workshops
2010 Creative Capital Workshop -PDP Internet for Artists
2009 SWAP (Supporting Women’s Artist Project), Brooklyn, NY
2008 Museum of Contemporary Art, Artist in residence, Chicago, IL
Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art: Emerge10, Newark, NJ
2007 Can Serrat International Residency, Barcelona, Spain
2006-05 MacDowell Colony, NH Vermont Studio Center, VT
Bibliography
The Upset- Young Contemporary Art • Die Gestalten Verlag • 10/08
Proximity Magazine • Artist Profile Series • Issue #2 • 9/08
Paul Klein • ArtLetter.com •Warming Up- #54• Art Review •1/25/08
Alan Artner • Chicago Tribune •’HereThereEverywhere’ map exhibit finds its place• Art Review •1/24/08
Alan Artner • Chicago Tribune •Gallery morphs into externalized landscapes • On The Town-Section 7 •9/14/07
Joanna Topor Mackenzie • Chicago Magazine • After Paschke…• 4/-07 pg. 20-21
Mary Louise Schumacher • Milwaukee Journal Sentinel •Worthy alternative art transcends pop culture • 11/8/06
Margaret Hawkins • Chicago Sun-Times • Galleries: Exhibit Explores Art of Nature, Nature of Art • 11/05
Tony Adler • Chicago Reader • Nature Denatured Into the Woods at Thomas McCormick • 11/05
Jennifer Geith • UR CHICAGO • Culture Shock: Mark Your Calendar• Into the Woods 10/05
Carrie Sandler • UR CHICAGO • Art Groupie: It All Come Tumbling Down, • Summer 2005
Contratiempo • Numero 28 • Mirada cómplice- Polvo: Una década de arte alternativo • 9/05
Fred Camper • Chicago Reader • Now Showing: The Enchanting Forest • 6/05
Alan Artner • Chicago Tribune • Art Reviews- Three Arts • 5/05
Annette Ferrara • Flavorpill.net •Gisela Insuaste:Aerial Nomads@Bucket Rider • #36:corporeal flavor-5/05
Anthony Elms • TimeOut Chicago •Art Reviews “NIU Gallery Group Show: Research”• Issue: 4/28-5/5/05, Pg 51
Curt Conklin • ArtLetter.Com • Art Letters Out: NIU Gallery review• 4/05
Terence Hannum• Ten by Ten Magazine • “Untitled Memories at 6310 m at Polvo" • March/April 2005
Lisa Birzen• Dartmouth College Alumni Stories • Gisela Insuaste: Transforming Life into Art • 11/04
Fred Camper • Chicago Reader • Critic’s Choice, Anti-Spacesuit: The Dirty Future • 9/3/03
Related Work Activities
Work Experience
El Museo del Barrio • Manager of School & Educator Programs • June 2008-present • New York, NY
Chicago Public Arts Group and the University of Chicago Great Cities Institute• Project Manager • Creating Places: Investigation/Celebration of Creating Cohesive Communities and Proactive People through Collaborative Design and Construction of Public Spaces • Chicago, IL •3/07-5/07
Columbia College Chicago • Center for Community Arts Partnership • Community School Site Coordinator/Sabin Magnet School • Chicago, IL •11/05- 4/07
Association House of Chicago •Arts Program Director • Chicago, IL •7/03- 11/2005
Benito Juarez Community Academy • Co-Leader: Telling Historias- Bilingual Journalism • Chicago, IL • 1/03- 4/03
City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs • Curatorial Assistant Intern • Visual Arts • Chicago, IL • 9/02- 2/03
Hyde Park Art Center • Program Coordinator • Education Dept. • Chicago, IL • 1/02-10/02
Chicago Historical Society • Exhibition Developer Assistant • Exhibition Dept. • Chicago, IL • 8/00- 1/02
Proyecto Salesiano, Chicos de la Calle • Artist-in-Resident • UESP • Quito, Ecuador • 5/99-5/00
Smithsonian Institution & Latin American Youth Center • Exhibition Coordinator &Curatorial Assistant • Latino Community Heritage Center • Washington, DC • 8/98-5/99
Teaching
Association House of Chicago • Lead Art Instructor • Chicago, IL • 9/03-11/05
El Cuarto Año Alternative HS- AHC • Lead Art Instructor• Painting, Drawing, & Graphic Arts • Chicago, IL • 9/03-6/04
Lill Street Art Center • Lead Instructor • Painting & Drawing • Chicago, IL • 9/03-5/04
Early College Program • School of the Art Institute of Chicago • Lead Instructor • Drawing • Chicago, IL • 6/04
School of the Art Institute of Chicago • Teaching Assistant • Painting & Drawing Dept. • Chicago, IL • 8/02- 5/03
Early College Program • School of the Art Institute of Chicago • Teaching Assistant • Painting • Chicago, IL • 7/02
Hyde Park Art Center • Workshop Instructor • Education Dept. • Chicago, IL • 3/02- 8/02
Armour Elementary School/Visual Learners • Hyde Park Art Center• Art Instructor • Chicago, IL • 2/02- 6/02
Rassias Language Institute • Harold Washington College • Spanish Lecturer • Chicago, IL • 6/00- 10/02
KCAI HS Summer Residency Prgm • Kansas City Art Institute • Lead Instructor • Drawing • Kansas City, MO • 6/98
Art In Your Future • Kansas City Art Institute • Lead Instructor • Kansas City, MO • 10/97-6/98
Dartmouth College • Studio Art Dept. • Teaching Assistant • Hanover, NH • 9/96-8/97
Lectures/Artist Talks
VIP Pass Program of the Armory Show • Artadia/Driehaus Studio Visit • 3/09
NEIU • Gallery Talk- Water Breaths • Chicago, IL • 9/11/07
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago • Education Dep’t • Artist Talk & Open Studio• Chicago, IL • 8/8/07
VIP Black Pass Program of Art Chicago • Artist Talk • Artadia/Driehaus Studio Visit • 4/29/07
Artists in Schools • Art Chicago • Chicago, IL • 4/27/07
Dartmouth College • Guest Artist • Alumni Office • Hanover, NH •August 2006
Thomas McCormick Gallery • Into the Woods, Artist Talk• Chicago, IL •10/05
Gallery 400, UIC • Artist Lecture • At the Edge • Chicago, IL •10/12/05
Art Institute of Chicago • Artist Lecture • Arts Connect • Chicago, IL •10/1/05
Dartmouth College • Visiting Artist • Alumni Office/Art Department • Hanover, NH •4/13/05
Concordia University • Visiting Artist Lecture-Drawing • Montreal, QC, Canada •1/20/04
School of the Art Institute of Chicago • Graduate Series Artist Lecture • Chicago, IL • 4/22/03
Universidad Central de Chimborazo • Visiting Artist Lecture •Facultad de Artes • Riobamba, Ecuador • 5/12/02
Projects, etc.
Mote • Zine Art & Interview • Melbourne, Australia• Spring
2010 Dorothy, a publishing project • Cover art • Renee Gladman books• Spring 2010
New York Times • Illustrator • Health & Research• June 24, 2008
Columbia College Chicago• Undergraduate Critique Panel • 5/8/07
City of Chicago Dept. of Cultural Affairs-Community Artist Assistance Program • 2007 Review Peer Panelist
Richard Driehaus Foundation • 2006 nominator
SAIC Graduate Program Critique Panels • 2002-2003
Hyde Park Art Center • Just Good Art Benefit • Chicago, IL • 2002, 2004, 2005
Exhibition Catalogs: Here and Now, Jin Soon Kim: A Twenty Year Retrospective and Leon Golub: Paintings and Drawings • Visual Arts Division, Dept. of Cultural Affairs, Chicago Cultural Center • Writer/researcher • 2002-2003 publications
Open Studio Night • Co-Coordinator• School of the Art Institute of Chicago • Chicago, IL • 11/ 15/02