gigi Giovanelli

Lives and works in New York, NY

Artist statement

My practice explores the physical and perceptual conditions of space, shaped by a lifelong closeness to nature and my upbringing in North Carolina. I am interested in how bodies, materials, and environments interact, and how space is experienced, constructed, and continuously shifting. Working primarily with metal and wood, I incorporate organic materials such as soil, coconut, oatmeal, and dirt, allowing each work to remain responsive to its surroundings. These materials carry their own histories and conditions, creating forms that negotiate stability and change, structure and vulnerability. My recent work begins with a question: what does it mean to measure a space that cannot be fully known? Drawing from mapping systems, measurement tools, architectural frameworks, and satellite imagery, I construct sculptural structures that attempt to define and organize space while exposing the limitations of these systems. Grids, frames, and antenna-like forms suggest precision and control, yet their instability prevents them from fully containing what they attempt to measure. Rather than resolving space, my sculptures activate it. Through shifting boundaries and imperfect systems, I explore the limits of perception and our desire to impose order on environments that continually exceed our attempts to define them. Something always remains outside the frame, creating the possibility for slippage, passage, and escape.

Artwork