email: ginsuaste@gmail.com
website: http://giselainsuaste.com
locale: 1901 Poplar Street, Poplar Studios

painting, drawing, and site-specific installation

“My work is based on real and imagined places that explore the intersection of architecture, topography, and memory. Through paintings, drawings, sculptures and site-specific installations, I tend to reveal the subtle and quirky topologies of urban spaces that are composed of interdependent elements that resonate with personal narratives. My interest in urban spaces is rooted in my desire to understand the interconnectedness of people, places, and things, and thus create spaces that reflect our fragile and dynamic relationship between the built and natural environment. Through these artworks, I explore the physical, emotional and politically charged places we live in while questioning our individual and shared cultural space and identity. Whether it’s a bike ride across a bridge or a plane ride across an ocean, my interactions through various spaces 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 is a visual artist and educator who received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a BA in Anthropology & Studio Art from Dartmouth College. She has participated in various exhibitions and projects nationwide such as the John and June Allcott Gallery, UNC, Chapel Hill, NC; Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA; Satellite Gallery at the University of Texas, San Antonio, TX; Aljira-the Center for Contemporary Art, Newark, NJ; Aicon Gallery, NY; Cuchifritos Gallery, NY; ABC No Rio, NY; Queens Museum 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. Gisela is a recipient of several grants and awards, including The Richard Driehaus/Artadia Emerging Artist Award (Chicago), Illinois Arts Council Artist Grants, and MacDowell Colony Artist Fellowships.