{"id":308052,"date":"2025-08-01T01:56:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308052\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T01:56:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T01:56:16","slug":"gabrielle-garlands-house-portraits-illuminate-daily-life-individuality-and-the-fabric-of-society-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/308052\/","title":{"rendered":"Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’ \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gabrielle Garland<\/a> may not depict people in her square-format, mixed-media paintings, yet the works might as well be described as portraits. From mailboxes and landscape choices to colorful stoops and glowing interior lights, her vibrant depictions of houses seem to come alive with saturated color and almost palpable feeling.<\/p>\n

Distorted, even cartoonish, Garland\u2019s homes portray a range of American vernacular styles, from ranches to bungalows to Queen Annes. Often, neighborhood happenings enter the scene, like the shoulder of an adjacent house, power lines, trees, or planes flying overhead.<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cRemember, you\u2019re the one who can fill the world with sunshine. \u2014 Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)\u201d (2024), acrylic and oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches<\/p>\n

A new solo exhibition of Garland\u2019s work opens at Miles McEnery Gallery<\/a> next month, titled I\u2019ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog Too. Her titles typically reference quotes from films, ranging in tone and topic as much as her homes also appear to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cStairs, flower boxes, and mailboxes swell or shrink disproportionately, revealing the distortions of the artist\u2019s memory (that murky area where structural logic intermingles with emotional noise),\u201d says a gallery statement. Whether depicted at night, during fireworks displays, in a storm, or in the blazing sun, the details of each house converge with out-of-context sentiments from movies that draw us into their unique characteristics and quirks while also affording a playful insight into the artist\u2019s frame of mind.<\/p>\n

Garland takes inspiration from everyday observations around her home in New York and beyond. She often works from her own photographs, sometimes using found images. \u201cMy body of work might be interpreted as an investigation of the physical fabric of society,\u201d Garland told Dovetail<\/a>. \u201cI believe it documents the constantly shifting balance between our desire for independence and interconnection, between the comfort and familiarity we seek and the strangely disorienting spaces we create.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog Too opens on September 4 and continues through October 25 in New York City. Find more on Garland\u2019s website<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cWhoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. \u2014Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)\u201d (2025), acrylic, oil, and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cI\u2019m glad he\u2019s single because I\u2019m going to climb that like a tree. \u2014Megan, Bridesmaids (2011)\u201d (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cWe have enough. You can stop now. \u2014Ava Fontaine, Lord of War (2005)\u201d (2024), acrylic, molding paste, glitter, and oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cAnd\u2026 and\u2026 c\u2019mon, Nick, what do you expect? To live happily ever after? \u2014Elizabeth James, The Parent Trap (1998)\u201d (2024), acrylic, oil, and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cI don\u2019t bite, you know\u2026 unless it\u2019s called for. \u2014Regina Lampert, Charade (1963)\u201d (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cI\u2019m scared. \u2014Christine, Before I Go to Sleep (2014)\u201d (2025), acrylic and glitter on canvas, 36 x 36 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cThat is why every day we pray for rain. \u2014Daena, Planet of the Apes (2001)\u201d (2024), acrylic and glitter on canvas, 36 x 36 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cIt\u2019s just, living alone, you know? And, the thought of buying those books like Cooking For One, and\u2026 it\u2019s just too depressing. \u2014Allison Jones, Single White Female (1992)\u201d (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches<\/p>\n

\"a\u201cI guess it feels different when it\u2019s someone you love \u2014Cassandra, Promising Young Woman (2020)\u201d (2025), acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches<\/p>\n

Do stories and artists like this matter to you?<\/strong> Become a Colossal Member<\/a> now, and support independent arts publishing.<\/p>\n