Freya Gabie studied sculpture at Chelsea College of Art and the Royal College of Art.
Her practice is site-responsive and often takes place, stories, archives, or collections as a starting point; working in conversation with different contexts, and materials. She works across media, employing unorthodox materials and incorporating historic processes to create new objects or interventions that share a language and connection to past practices; her hands echoing previous hands in the making.
She is interested in drawing out unnoticed narratives manifest within different places, objects, artifacts, songs, and stories. Transforming the familiar to reveal and consider the ways we confront and express our histories; how these objects may re-tell the past, portray a version of the present, or predict a future, that frames both our personal and cultural identity.
Her work attempts to occupy the space between poetry, documentary, the surreal, and the conceptual; to re-tell something in new form, that sings a new song, and creates a new material inheritance.
She is currently based in central London, as artist in residence at Picton Studios, for Selfridges London.
AWARDS AND PRIZES
2022 Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Prize, Shortlist exhibition
2020 Arts Council Covid Emergency Fund
2017 Artangel ‘Everywhere’ Shortlisted – 1 of 8
2017 Mark Tanner Sculpture Award, Shortlisted
2017 British Academy Bridget Riley Fellowship (Drawing), British School in Rome, Shortlisted
2015 Neo Art Prize, Residency and Solo Exhibition Award winner, Bolton, UK
2015 Griffin Gallery Open, Griffin Gallery, London
2015 Combat Art Prize, 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, Shortlisted for the Open West Prize
2008 Artsway 08 Artsway, Sway, Shortlisted for prize 2008 Darbyshire Award Shortlist Exhibition, Museum in the Park, Stroud
2007 Salon 07 Short-list Exhibition, Seven-Seven Contemporary, London
PUBLIC COMMISSIONS
2021 ‘All Fired Up’ Historic England, Stoke on Trent / Poole, UK
2020 ‘Underflow’ UCL Public commission Site History, UCLH, ION, DRI, London, UK
2020 ‘Contagious Image’ Burton Museum and Art Gallery, Bideford, UK
2018 ‘Atlas’ Eriksburg Museum, Tranas, Sweden
2018 ‘Avenue’ Châteaux De Bosmolet, Diep-Haven Festival 2018, UK/ France 2017 ‘Grafted Chorus’ Future Perfect, Bristol, UK
2014 ‘Swansong; Dawn till Dusk’ D.I.G Collective, London, UK
SELECTED INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCIES
2024 The Silence of Growing Things, Funded residency with Artcore, 1Shanti Road, Bangalore, India
2023 Action Space Residency. Funded residency working with Artist Matthew Berry, London, UK
2022 The Border Residency. Funded residency, El Paso, Texas, USA
2019 Artist engagement resident. Employed artist for ‘Leonardo Da Vinci, A life in Drawing’ Bristol Museum, UK 2018 ‘Fur’ Artist residency/exhibition. Funded residency. Palsmuseum, Tranas, Sweden
2017/18 Raw Materials: Textiles, Bow Arts. Funded residency. The Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
2017 IMR Artist in Residence aboard Dr Fridtjof Nansen Vessel, Namibia and South Africa
2017 USF Art Centre,. Funded Residency. Bergen, Norway 2016 Doremi, Florence Art Centre and Iron Mine. Funded residency. Cumbria, UK
2016 Neo Artist Residency. Funded residency. Bolton, UK 2015 108 Artist Residency. Funded residency. New York, USA
2015 Fljótstunga Artist Residency. Funded residency. Iceland
2015 DepARTure Foundation. Funded residency. London, UK
2013 Intern Fellowship Residency. Supported residency. Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota, USA
2011 Artist in Residence/ solo exhibition. Supported residency, Styx Projects, Berlin, Germany
2009 Artist in Residence / solo exhibition. Funded residency, Meantime Space, Cheltenham, UK
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 ‘Duet’ Danielle Arnaud Gallery, London UK
2023 ‘Monuments’ M2 Gallery, London, UK
2022 ‘Duet’ BAR, El Paso, Texas, USA
2020 ‘Contagious Image’ Burton Gallery and Museum, Bideford, UK
2018 ‘ Hold The Line’ Project Launch. Danielle Arnaud Contemporary, London UK
2016 ‘Everything Must Go’ Neo, Bolton, UK
2016 ‘Quickly, Quietly’ 9B Projects, London, UK
2014 ‘Dawn till Dusk – Swan Song’ Dig Collective, London, UK
2011 ‘Undone.Retold’ Styx Projects, Berlin, Germany 2010 ‘Vestige’ an installation in an empty tower block flat, Glasgow, UK
2009 ‘Desirelines’ Meantime Space, Cheltenham, UK
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS
2023 ‘Secret Postcard’ RWA Bristol UK
2023 ‘Between Land and Sky’ SVA, Periscope Arts, The Chapels of Rest, Stroud, UK
2023 ‘Hung, Drawn & Quartered’ The Prick and Stitch Collective, Standpoint Gallery, London, UK
2022 ‘Trinity Wharf Drawing Prize’ Touring Exhibition, UK 2019 ‘Gossip’ Take Courage, New Cross, London
2019 ‘The London Art Fair’ Danielle Arnaud Contemporary, London UK
2018 ‘OFFCUT’ Eriksburg Museum, Tranas, Sweden
2018 ‘Contre Point 1: Still life’, Auffey, France
2018 ‘Raw Materials; Textiles, Nunnery Gallery / Vallance House, London, UK
2018 ‘Say no more’ http://www.isthisitisthisit.com/say-no-more
2017 ‘Air; Visualising the invisible in British Art 1768 – 2017’ RWA, Bristol, UK
2017 ‘A Bird in the Head’ Danielle Arnaud Gallery, London, UK
2017 ‘Hanger 1’ Charity Art Auction for Refugees, Berlin, Germany
2017 ‘This is where we fall’ Thames Side Gallery, London, UK
2016 ‘The Surround X Seen Through’ Avarard Hotel, Slate Projects, London, UK
2016 ‘Spectrum’ PS Mirabel, Manchester, UK
2015 ‘Things I Know, Things I Don’t Know’ 108, New York, USA
2015 ‘Tendencies’ Mo.e Contemporary, Vienna, Austria 2015 ‘Sketchy Remarks’ DepARTure Foundation, London, UK 2014 ‘Echo’ The Function Room, London, UK
2014 ‘Spun Through Shadows’ Collaboration with Composer Nick Morrish and Another Dance Company, London, UK
2014 ‘Hole Story’ D.I.G Collective, Hackney, London UK 2014 ‘Works on Paper’ Meantime Projects. Cheltenham, UK
2014 ‘Royal College of Art Degree Show’ Sculpture RCA. London, UK 2014 ‘RCA Secret’ Dyson Gallery, London, UK 2013 ‘Workweek’ Casket Gallery, Minneapolis, USA
2013 ‘RCA Secret’ Dyson Gallery, London, UK
2013 ‘Extra-Ordinary’ Departure Foundation, Glassford Street, London, UK
2013 ‘Royal College of Art Works in Progress Show’ Henry Moore Gallery London, UK
2012 ‘Middleland – Responses to Drawing’ 22 Gas Street, Birmingham, UK
2012 ‘Wanted’ Drawing Show, RCA London, UK
2012 ‘Smashed Plates and Seascapes’ The Cove, Lamorna, Cornwall, UK
2011 ‘One thing leads to another’ Portland House, Malvern, UK
2011 ‘Episode 2: Ghost in the machine’ The Others Gallery. London, UK
2011 ‘Wallpaper Collective:8 Folds’ Richmix Gallery. London, UK
2011‘Cellspace’ exhibition with Nicola Stead, The Old Police Station/Styx Projects, London, UK
2010 ‘At Play’ South Hill Park, Bracknel, UK
2009 ‘Archway Island Group Show’ Archway Methodist Church, London, UK
2008 ‘Siteshow’ 31 Warwick Square, London, UK
2007 ‘Seduced’ The Windows Gallery (In association with the Barbican) London, UK 2006 ‘Slightly off centre’ St Pancras Church Crypt, London, UK
2006 ‘This way up’ Temporary Contemporary. London,
UK EDUCATION PROGRAMS/WORKSHOPS/SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT
2022 ‘Contested Spaces’ Invited speaker at AESC Round Table discussion, SOLENT University, Southampton, UK 2022 Led a series of collaborative workshops with a group of convicted young people in the US prison system, El Paso, USA
2022 Guest lecturer at UTEP Department of Fine Art, University of Texas at El Paso, USA
2021 ‘All Fired Up’ Led a series of workshops creating ceramic sculptures with over 100 participants
2019 Engagement artist for ‘Leonardo Da Vinci life in drawing’ exhibition, Bristol Museum, a project engaging with 2,000 young people and vulnerable adults to produce a mass community collective drawing installation, Bristol, UK
2019 – Present lead artist on a series of workshops, Museum of the Home, London UK
2018 Public lecture, Nunnery Gallery, London, UK
2018 Lead artist on a series of day workshops for Bow Arts, London, UK
2016 Lecture and visiting artist at Bolton University, UK 2015 Public Lecture, Fljótstunga, Iceland
2014 Whitechapel Gallery Family Day Education Artist, London, UK
2013 Invited Artist - Lecturing and tutoring at The University of Worcester, UK
2013 Public lecture, Franconia Sculpture Park, Minnesota, USA
2013 ‘Bookmonsters’ Sculpture Workshop in collaboration with St Croix public Library, USA
2013 ‘Kids Make Sculpture’ day-long workshops, Franconia Sculpture Park, USA
2010/12 Led a series of weekly art workshops at Welcome Home Gallery, CCA, Glasgow, UK
2009 Lead Artist for ARTSHAPE engagement program in Gloucester Care home
