Adrienne Gale

My name is Adrienne Gale and I am a printmaker, paper maker, fiber artist, and book artist.

My art typically deals with language, specifically etymology and the connections that exist between words through their histories. Using my own visual symbols of trees, roots, seeds, and nests, I explore language and text in a variety of media.

I have recently moved back to my hometown of Hartford, CT. In September 2009, I will be opening the doors to a new printshop, Hartford Prints!, which has been made possible through a grant from the city. 

I received my BFA in Painting from Boston University, and amy MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. After finishing my master's degree, I moved to Venice, Italy where I was the 2006-2008 Fellow at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica.  In addition to focusing on my own art at the Scuola, I taught book arts and printmaking to students from such institutions as Boston University, Connecticut College, and Indiana University. I also curated and coordinated the shows in the Galleria Sotoportego. Upon returning to the States in 2008, I became a resident artist at The University of Pennsylvania. In the spring of 2009, I taught a class at Penn titled Book Arts & Letterpress.

Please take the time to view my art. I have tried to organize everything via tags, so hopefully if something sparks your interest, you can easily find other pieces that relate to it or are in the same media. For the most part, all of my work is for sale and you can contact me for prices. Mostly, though, this journal is an attempt to share my interpretation of the world around me with others.

All of the images posted here belong to me, as does the work they depict. Please, look through them, enjoy them, and feel free to ask me questions about them. However, please do not copy/share/repost, or reproduce etc. unless I give my express permission. Thank you.



To view my exhibition record, click

( Exhibitions )

To view my teaching experience, click

( Teaching )

To view my gallery experience, click

( Gallery )

I am honored to be one of the recipients of a Hartford Arts & Heritage Jobs grant.

My proposed project, Hartford Prints!, will be a letterpress and book binding studio. Over half of my budget will go towards hiring ten students from my alma mater, Hartford Public High School (the second oldest high school in the country), who will learn from and work with me in the studio. The intention is to create ephemera such as blank books, greeting cards, buttons, prints, and more that all promote the city of Hartford. These items will then be donated to Hartford area institutions such as the Mark Twain House, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the Old State House, and coffee houses, etc. It is hoped that these institutions will be able to sell our work with a 100% profit for themselves. There will also be open studio events, workshops, and exhibitions to educate the public about Hartford Prints! and further Hartford pride.

You can learn more about the grant and the other recipients here:

www.letsgoarts.org/Page.aspx

 Current works from my studio in West Philadelphia



"concave"
handmade flax paper
roving wool
yarn









"hysteria"
roving wool
artist's hair
eggshells
pen & ink












"eruptions I"
handmade flax paper
various other papers
roving wool
string









"eruptions II"
various papers
artist's hair
muslin
string











"eruptions III"
various papers
artist's hair
muslin
string









"untitled"
handmade flax paper
artist's hair

 Notes and drawings from my sketchbook concerning ideas I am currently exploring:
art for the body, humorism, hysteria, Roe v. Wade, Queen Anne's lace, and more


( images )

Images from the exhibition "Contain, Keep, Shelter, House, Nest" in the Galleria Sotoportego in Venice, Italy




gallery view




gallery view




"A - Z"
altered book:
The Concise Oxford English Dictionary
Oxford University Press, 1962
rope, yarn, thread
26 x 11 x 4 in.
2007-2008




"A - Z"




"A - Z"




"A - Z"




"Caught"
tarlatan, paper, ink, thread
each object approx. 13 x 4 x 4 in.
2007




"Caught"




"Caught"




"Caught"




"Corporeal"
Lipton tea bags, artist’s hair, paper, ink, thread
each object approx. 1.75 x 2 x 2 in.
2008




"Corporeal"




"Corporeal"




"Corporeal"




"Covering Ideas"
images from artist’s sketchbook 2005-2008
rope, yarn, wax printout on paper, thread
each object approx. 12 x 6 x 6 in.
2007-2008




"Covering Ideas"




"Covering Ideas"




"Covering Ideas"




"Fairy Tale"
appropriated text:
The Shoes That Were Danced To Pieces
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm
translated by Margaret Hunt
monofilament, rope, yarn, wax printout on paper
each object approx. 3 x 3 x 1.5 in.
2007-2008




"Fairy Tale"




"Fairy Tale"




"Fairy Tale"




"Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius"
altered book:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
by William Shakespeare
Pocket Classics, 1995
paper, thread, acrylic paint
10 x 6 x 6.5 in.
2008




"Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius"




"Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius"




"Hermia and Lysander, Helena and Demetrius"




"Housing Homes"
yarn, paper, ink, thread
each object approx. 4 x 4 x 4 in.
2008




"Housing Homes"




"Housing Homes"




"Housing Homes"




"Keeping Language"
essays written by the artist for Carol Moore’s
Society & Metaphor Graduate Seminar Class
at The University of the Arts
"A Brief History of the English Language" and
"Meditations on My Own Use of Language in Art"
etchings on paper, thread, wax printout on vellum
each object approx. 6 x 4 x 2 in.
2008




"Keeping Language"




"Keeping Language"




"Keeping Language"




"Nesting Words"
rope, yarn, paper, graphite
each object approx. 2 x 2 x 2 in.
2007




"Nesting Words"




"Nesting Words"




"Nesting Words"




"Nests of Leaves"
altered book:
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Penguin Classics, 1986
string, paper
each object approx. 3 x 2.5 x 2.5 in.
2008




"Nests of Leaves"




"Nests of Leaves"




"Nests of Leaves"




"Volumes 1 - 4"
window screening, fabric, rope, paper, thread
each book approx. 2 x 2 x 1.5 in.
each object approx. 50 x 4 x 3 in.
2008

Images from the 2007 exhibition "Ossa/Bones" in the Galleria Sotoportego in Venice, Italy




"Acquiring"
book arts/installation: paper, waxed thread, embroidery floss
50 handmade books, 2 x 2 inches each, and 3 handmade nets, 3 x 3 feet each
2007




"Acquiring"




"Acquiring"




"Acquiring"




"Acquiring"




"Acquiring"




"Acquiring"




"Capturing"
pen & ink, watercolor, charcoal, graphite on Fabriano Rosaspina paper
70 x 50 cms
2007




"Delving"
pen & ink, watercolor, graphite on Fabriano Rosaspina paper
70 x 50 cms
2007




"Capturing Rome" & "Sending Rome"
book: variation on a carrousel structure, hand stitching, 5 x 3 x 1 inches
print: letterpress on Rives Classica paper, handmade tarlatan envelope, hand stitching, 5 x 5 inches, edition 40
2007




"Capturing Rome"




"Capturing Rome"




"Sending Rome" & "Capturing Venice"
print: letterpress on Rives Classica paper, handmade tarlatan envelope, hand stitching, 5 x 5 inches, edition 40
book: variation on a carrousel structure, hand stitching, 5 x 3 x 1 inches
2007




"Capturing Venice"




"Sending Rome" & "Capturing Venice"




"parlo solo un po'"
tarlatan, rope, thread, waxed thread, paper, pen & ink, hand stitching
each object approx. 12 x 5 x 5 inches
2006




"parlo solo un po'"




"parlo solo un po'"




"Roma/Venezia"
letterpress, trace monotypes
edition of 10 each
text by Adrienne Gale and Calabria Gale
2007




"Roma/Venezia"




"Roma/Venezia"




"Roma/Venezia"
interior spreads




"Arriving Series" numbers 1 & 2
cyanotype on Fabriano Rosaspina paper
edition of 8 each
each image approx. 5 x 5 inches
2007




"Arriving Series" numbers 3 & 4
cyanotype on Fabriano Rosaspina paper
edition of 8 each
each image approx. 5 x 5 inches
2007

Images from my MFA Thesis Exhibition at the Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery as part of the Book Arts & Printmaking Graduate Program at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA.

"word roots"
installation
handmade flax paper, ink, thread
2006

My goal was to create a visual interpretation of the idea of etymology, or the history of words. Each strand of "vessels" represents a word broken down into its linguistic roots. On the floor is a piece of paper with the current Modern English word stitched onto it. The thread runs up and connects to the first "vessel" which is usually the Middle English version of that word, then up to the Old English version, Middle French, Old High German, etc. until at the top of the strand is the oldest incarnation of the word in Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit, etc.







( click to see more images of the installation )





( click to see more images of details )




opening reception

Images from my studio in my second year of grad school and works-in-progress for my thesis exhibition.



studio, fall 2005




studio, spring 2006

( click to see more images of my thesis in progress )

Images from the second-year MFA candidates' works-in-progress show "Excerpt" at the Hamilton Hall Gallery, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, October 2005.




gallery view

( click to see more images from Excerpt )

Images of work made during my first year of graduate school at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia in the Book Arts & Printmaking Program




"I'll Go Sailing"
paper, mylar, ink, woodcut
text by Calabria Gale and Adrienne Gale
one of a kind
2004

( click to see more images of artist's books )




"An Alphabet of Brambles" (detail)
pen & ink on hand-cut paper
edition of two
2005

( click to see more images of book objects )




"Thekla"
cyanotype on paper
inspired by Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
edition of ten
2005

( click to see more images of non-silver prints and handmade paper )

Books I created for my BFA thesis show at Boston University.

( click to see images )

Images from my junior and senior years at Boston University as a painting major in the College of Fine Arts.

( click to see images )