In my 2022 Kentucky Mudworks studio
GABBY LONG
Gabby Long was born in1999 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. She received her BFA in 2021 with an emphasis in Painting and a minor in Outdoor Recreation from Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. Long has been included in various exhibitions and projects in Kentucky, Arizona, and Colorado, and recently exhibited her first solo exhibition, Biome, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Flagstaff, Arizona. Long was Artist in Residence at Montezuma Castle National Monument in 2022 and was awarded the Artist Opportunity Grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts in 2023. Long is currently the Post Baccalaureate Ceramics student at Colorado State University, in Fort Collins, Colorado.
I am a painter, ceramicist, and multimedia builder. My work uses landscapes and rooms as a metaphoric connection to built, dreamed, and remembered headspace. I illustrate household objects, natural debris (such as rocks and twigs), and imagined creatures to reference both the real and surreal. Lighting and live plants can make objects and the space around them seem inhabited, casting light and shadows on both the physical world and the viewer's imagination. Memory and reflection are foundational elements in my work. Furniture and floor plans from previous apartments, houseplants, long-dead pet fish, and waterfalls from favorite hikes weave together cloudy narratives. By referencing known objects and combining them with impossible architecture and strange spaces, I create almost familiar places that explore the mystery of the future.
EDUCATION
2021: Asbury University
Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art with an emphasis in Painting and a minor in Outdoor Recreation in Wilmore, KY.
EXHIBITIONS
September 2024: Mugshot: Artistic Drinking Vessels at The Arvada Center in Arvada, Colorado.
January 2024: DreamLand group exhibition at 40 West Arts in Lakewood, Co.
June 2023: Biome solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art Flagstaff, in Flagstaff, AZ. Funded by The Arizona Commission on the Arts.
March 2023: The Surreal World group exhibition at Found:Re Contemporary in Phoenix, AZ.
March 2023: Ceramics Showcase at the Coco-Op Makerspace in Flagstaff, AZ.
March 2022: Sip & Shop Event Artist Vendor with Flora and Fauna Amor in Winchester, KY.
April 2021: Entropic Daydream solo exhibition at Asbury University’s Blue Gallery in Wilmore, KY.
October 2020: University Open LexArts online exhibit in Lexington, KY.
November 2019: Junior Showcase at Asbury University’s Blue Gallery in Wilmore, KY.
RESIDENCY
July 18-August 1, 2022: Montezuma Castle National Monument Artist-In-Residence in Camp Verde, AZ.
Practiced plein air and imaginative painting, made pottery, and created drawings from nature at Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well, and Tuzigoot National Monuments. Designed and taught two public art workshops and donated three paintings to the Western National Parks Association.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2024: Award of Excellence from 40 West Arts Gallery.
2023: Artist Opportunity Grant awarded by The Arizona Commission on the Arts.
2021: Senior Merit Award from the Asbury University Art + Design Department.
PROJECTS
August 2024: Bud Vases and Blooms workshop in collaboration with Dirt and Bloom Flower Farm in Fort Collins, CO.
March 2023: Sgraffito Workshop at The HeArt Box gallery in Flagstaff, AZ.
PRESS