Francesca Gabbiani, a Los Angeles--based artist, is best known for her collages made up of hundreds of layered pieces of intricately cut paper. Her laborious process results in an artwork that tinkers between two--dimensional and three--dimensional, a composition that becomes full of depth. Gabbiani is interested in cultivating a space that is familiar yet distant, nostalgic yet unsettling.
For The Afghan Carpet Project, Gabbiani created a design based on an array of vibrantly--colored kites, reminiscent of the popular pastime of kite flying in Afghanistan. In the past, the artist has created series based on the forms and spaces that make up utopias, representing perfection, fundamentalism, and otherworldliness. Other landscapes depict memories frozen in time and space, complex narratives that are ominous yet mesmerizing.
Born in Montreal and raised in Switzerland, Gabbiani studied in the École Supérieure des Beaux Arts in Geneva and the Rijksakedemie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amerstedam. She went on to receive her MFA from UCLA in 1997, and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. Since then, her work has been exhibited in such prestigious institutions as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Armand Hammer Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Her work is included in such public collections as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
