“I envisioned creating an embracing environment. I added a ring of trees around the land, almost like a protective embrace, so that when you enter the property, it feels like being in a large, nurturing space.”
While uniting earthly elements and ethereal atoms on the canvas, Gagliano is engaging in an instinctive dance, orchestrating order and chaos. While not directly visible on the final canvas, composition is the foundation of Gagliano’s practice. This process begins long before she enters the studio. As a gardener, she carefully shaped the landscape she daily depicts, selecting the essence of the trees to be planted in her front yard and thoughtfully arranging their placement. Through this land intervention, Gagliano is creating an Artscape, a land art artwork from which she draws daily inspiration. By planting thousands of trees, the artist is contributing at the same time to the reforestation of her area.
Planted in the same year as the birth of her third son, these verdant children are intertwined with the family tree, bringing a daily source of inner peace and guidance for the family members. The horizontal line formed by their trunks serves as a horizon line, providing a resting place for her gaze. This has become a recurring theme in her paintings, offering a point of stability amidst the often depicted flow of high energy.
Beyond the meticulous landscape construction and composition that serve as the foundation of her canvases, Gagliano always embraces a degree of improvisation in her process. As a lover of jazz , she deliberately incorporates uncontrollable elements into her canvas, allowing them to interact with her work. If it begins to rain, she may let the rain blend with the layer of paint she has just applied. If the wind starts to blow, she may allow it to modify the flow of her composition creating the “call and response” of the landscape.