Freya Gabie studied sculpture at Chelsea College of Art and the RCA, she works between Bristol and London. Her practice is site responsive: focusing on connection and exchange. She makes objects, drawings and interventions that respond to particular histories, stories and places, peeling under the surface to expose hidden layers. The work disrupts the unconscious interchange between people and their environment through methods of displacement, partial erasure or re-framing; creating a sense of isolation and impermanence while paradoxically highlighting the connection at play between seemingly autonomous entities, often left unspoken or overlooked.
She regularly works collaboratively with a wide spectrum of individuals and communities both in the UK and abroad. Previous projects include working with an Opera singer to stage a live performance in central London from a coal-hole, a group of miners in the North of England, an entire community in Tower Hamlets, London; forming a continuous day-long A-Capella performance from dawn to dusk; a ‘swansong’ to a medieval garden condemned for demolition and redevelopment. She collaborated with UK financial traders and traditional Lancashire clog dancers to create a clog dance interpreting the financial trading data of BREXIT
Gabie spent this winter on board a marine research and humanitarian aid ship travelling around coastal Africa, tracing original refugee routes of the 1920’s for an ongoing project. This spring she was commissioned by Bow Arts as artist in residence for Raw Materials Textiles 2018 to create a body of work responding to the historic textile of East London, working with several archives and museums including the V&A, William Morris Gallery and the Jewish Museum. This summer, for Diep Haven 2018, she created a sculptural intervention in the form of a line drawing across two landscapes, in Normandy France, and East Sussex, UK along the proposed V2 missile route. She has just returned from a one month residency in Tranas, Sweden where she developed body of work in response to the town’s historic fur trade.
Education
MA Royal College of Art 2012-2014
BA (Hons) Fine Art Sculpture Chelsea College of Art and Design 2004-2007
Solo Exhibitions
2016 November – January, ‘Everything Must Go’ Neo, Bolton, UK
2016 March - April, ‘Quickly, Quietly’ 9B Projects, London, UK
2014 October ‘Dawn till Dusk – Swan Song’ Dig Collective, London, UK
2011 July- August ‘Undone.Retold’ Styx Projects, Berlin, Germany
2010 September ‘Vestige’ an installation in an empty tower block flat, Glasgow, UK
2009 July - August ‘Desirelines’ Meantime Space, Cheltenham, UK
Awards and Prizes
2017 Artangel ‘Everywhere’ Shortlisted – 1 of 8
2017 Mark Tanner Sculpture Award, Shortlisted – prize announced in May 2017
2017 British Academy Bridget Riley Fellowship, British School in Rome, Shortlisted – prize announced April 2017
2015 Neo Art Prize, Residency and Solo Exhibition Award Bolton, UK
2015 Griffin Gallery Open, Shortlist, Griffin Gallery, London
2015 Combat Art Prize, Shortlist, Livorno, Italy
2014 Uncertain States / Nine, Awardee, Four Corners Gallery, London
2014 Jerwood Drawing Prize, Shortlist, Jerwood Space, London
2014 David Troostwyk / Matts Gallery award (Finalist) Selected by Susan Hiller and Robin Klassnik
2014 Awarded Royal College of Art Bursary Scheme
2013 Awarded Royal College of Art Bursary Scheme
2013 Awarded Eaton Award Bursary
2012 Gilchrist Fisher Landscape Award 2012, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London, Prize winner
2009 The Open West Summerfield Gallery, Cheltenham, Short-listed for the Open West Prize
2008 Artsway 08 Artsway, Sway.,Short-listed for prize
2008 Darbyshire Award Short - list Exhibition, Museum in the Park, Stroud
2007 Salon 07 Short-list Exhibition, Seven-Seven Contemporary, London
Public Commissions
2018 DiepHaven Festival 2018 Terra Firma 'Avenue' - Newhaven, East Sussex / Chateaux De Bosmolet Normandy, France
2017 ‘Grafted Chorus’ Future Perfect, Bristol,
Residencies
2018 July - August 'Fur' Artist in Residence at Kultivera, Tranus, Sweden
2018 November - May Bow Art Raw Materials Artist in Residence and commision, Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
2017 November – December 2018 Artist in Residence, Dr Fridtjof Nansen Vessel travelling around coastal Africa, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Namibia and South Africa
2017 January – March Artist in Residence, USF Art Centre, Bergen, Norway
2016 August Doremi Artist Residency Florence Art Centre, Cumbria, UK
2016 May – August Neo Artist Residency Bolton, UK
2015 September 108 Artist Residency, New York, USA
2015 May Fljótstunga Artist Residency, Iceland
2015 February – March Artist in Residence. DepARTure Foundation, London, UK
2014 October - Artist in Residence. D.I.G Collective, Hackney, London
2013 June - August Intern Fellowship Residency. Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota, USA
2011 July - August Artist in Residence/ solo exhibition, Styx Projects, Berlin, Germany
2009 June - July Artist in Residence / solo exhibition, Meantime Space, Cheltenham, UK
Selected Group Shows
2017 June – September RWA ‘Air; Visualising the invisible in British Art 1768 – 2017 Bristol, UK
2017 May - June Danielle Arnaud Gallery ‘A Bird in the Head’ London, UK
2017 April ‘Hanger 1 Charity Art Auction for Refugees, Berlin, Germany
2017 February – March ‘This is where we fall’ Thames Side Gallery, London, UK
2016 October ‘The Surround X Seen Through’ Avarard Hotel, Slate Projects, London, UK
2016 July – August ‘Spectrum’ PS Mirabel, Manchester, UK
2015 September ‘Things I Know, Things I Don’t Know’ 108, New York, USA
2015 ‘Tendences’ Mo.e Contemporary, Vienna, Austria
2015 March ‘Sketchy Remarks’ DepARTure Foundation, London, UK
2014 November ‘Echo’ The Function Room, London, UK
2014 October ‘Hole Story’ D.I.G Collective, Hackney, London UK
2014 July ‘Works on Paper’ Meantime Projects. Cheltenham, UK
2014 June ‘Royal College of Art Degree Show’ Sculpture RCA. London, UK
2014 March ‘RCA Secret’ Dyson Gallery. London, UK
2013 August ‘Workweek’ Casket Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
2013 March ‘RCA Secret’ Dyson Gallery, London, UK
2013 March ‘Extra-Ordinary’ Departure Foundation, Glassford Street, London, UK
2013 February ‘Royal College of Art Works in Progress Show’ Henry Moore Gallery London, UK
2012 November ‘Middleland – Responses to Drawing 22 Gas Street, Birmingham, UK
2012 October ‘Wanted’ Drawing Show, RCA London, UK
2012 July – August ‘Smashed Plates and Seascapes’ The Cove, Lamorna, Cornwall, UK
2011 June - July ‘One thing leads to another’ Portland House, Malvern, UK
2011 June - August ‘Episode 2: Ghost in the machine’ The Others Gallery. London, UK
2011 May - June ‘Wallpaper Collective:8 Folds’ Richmix Gallery. London, UK
2011 February - March ‘Cellspace’ Two-man exhibition with Nicola Stead. The Old Police Station/Styx, Projects. London, UK
2010 April - June ‘At Play’ South Hill Park, Bracknel, UK
2009 June ‘Archway Island Group Show’ Archway Methodist Church, London, UK
2008 September ‘Siteshow’ 31 Warwick Square, London, UK
2007 December ‘Seduced’ The Windows Gallery (In association with the Barbican) London, UK
2006 November ‘Slightly off centre’ St Pancras Church Crypt, London, UK
2006 May ‘This way up’ Temporary Contemporary. London, UK
Educational work/Public Lectures
2017 Lecture, DR Fridtjof Nansen Research Vessel, Namibia
2016 Lecture University of Bolton, Fine Art
2015 Public Lecture, 108 New York, USA
2015 Public lecture, Fljotsunga, Iceland
2014 November Whitechapel Gallery Family Day Education Artist, leading a day long workshop for young children.
2013 Invited Artist - Lecturing and tutoring at The University of Worcester
2013 July Public lecture, Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota, USA
2013 June ‘Bookmonsters Sculpture Workshop in collaboration with St Croix public Library, USA
2013 June – August ‘Kids Make Sculpture’ day-long workshops, Franconia Sculpture Park, USA
2010 – 2012 Ongoing art and craft workshops at Welcome Home Gallery, CCA, Glasgow, UK
2009 February - March Collaboration with Artshape in Gloucestershire working with residents in care homes creating sculpture that was exhibited Cheltenham Museum and Art Gallery in March 2009
Collaborations
2014 November ‘Spun Through Shadows’ Collaboration with Classical Composer Nick Morrish and Another Dance Company
2013 September, ‘Till the Music stops’ Collaboration with composer Nick Morrish.
2007 - 2012 ‘The Wallpaper Collective’ Web-based collaboration with Designer Robin Howie
2005 December ‘Art School Palestine’ Virtual collaboration. London/Palestine
Publications
2016 ‘Quickly, Quietly’ A limited edition of 50 books of text works, Eros Press, London
2015 ‘Bibliography’ Starkman Press, London, limited edition 2000
