Celia Gerard’s imagery is derived from a developing language of shapes that collide with traces of memory. Exploring the lines of form and structure, Gerard’s process uses the grid as a foundation for adding and subtracting layers of spatial relationships. From piece to piece, the grounds of each individual work oscillate between the lightest light and a mesmerizing darkness. This balance combines materiality with elements of a mysterious state of limitless potential. The multiplicity of Gerard’s mark making turns in on itself, creating a prismatic reflection that strikes a sense of quiet mindful awe. Gerard’s wide-ranging influences include Islamic architecture, graffiti, crystal formations, and the works of composer John Cage and artist Georges Braque.

Drawn from works by Augustine and poet Jorie Graham, Gerard’s work pays homage to both historical and contemporary influences, while also referencing a sense of being in between the unknown and the known. Within Gerard’s works, the eye takes timeless journeys through prismatic fields and landscapes. Bruce Gagnier, one of Gerard’s mentors, describes the work this way:

“Celia Gerard draws in depth, a plastic, pictorial depth; forming volumes in space based on geometry; perhaps the geometry that is hidden in nature. The space we travel through in these works is palpable in the drawing and resonant in our unconscious. Looking at one of these works is a journey to an important place located on the picture plane; a focal point; we are guided to this locus, far from the surface; a somewhere else; an important place to arrive at after a poetic journey; a place deep in space; but with no named presence; focused finally in ourselves.”                 

Celia Gerard (b. 1973, raised in NYC) received her BA with Honors in Art and Art History from Colgate University, her MFA in Sculpture from the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture and her EdM from Harvard University. In addition, she studied with Nicolas Carone and Bruce Gagnier at the International School of Art in Umbria, Italy.  One-person exhibitions include Sears-Peyton Gallery; Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson, WY; John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY. Her work has been included in numerous national and international group exhibitions, including the National Academy Museum, New York, NY and Harvard University. Awards and grants include the S.J. Wallace Truman Fund Award for graphics from the National Academy Museum; Artist-in-residence, the New York Studio School; Seligman/ Von Simpson award for excellence in sculpture; LCU foundation grant; and a sculpture fellowship from the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Her work has been written about in ARTnews, The Daily Beast, ARTSY, Artspace, The NY Sun, Parabola, works & conversations, and City Arts.  She currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts, and has taught at Columbia University, Pratt Institute, Bard College, Swarthmore, the New York Studio School, Saint  Ann’s School and Riker’s Island Correctional Facility. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.