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Karyn Gabriel Ceramics l Sculpture

@kgabrielstudio

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'Silica / SiO2 Northern CA Ceramics' @santacruzmah 9/4-1/3/27
2026 AIR @penlandschool
2025 AIR @andersonranch
2025 Emerging Artist @ceramicmonthly

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Experimentation in repetitious ruminations

#sculpturalceramics #wallsculpture #contemporaryceramics taken in Fairfax, California by @kgabrielstudio

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4 months ago

Karyn Gabriel (@kgabrielstudio), one of our 2025 Emerging Artists, shared this with us: Pattern is my visual language, a way to make sense of a complex world. My ceramic sculptures draw inspiration from a landscape rich with structural rhythms and references from architecture, textile construction, and even the human body. I pare form to its essence, exposing a slightly brutal beauty and emphasizing the interplay between surface and structure. Nothing is extraneous. I’m obsessed with light, shadow, and translucency. My forms explore space that feels simultaneously contained and porous, as if revealing the skeletal framework left behind once the outer layers peel away. This spatial tension is as crucial to shaping the form as pattern is to illuminating its physical essence. Clay holds a paradox I love: it possesses a weighty permanence and yet, carries a sense of fragility and porousness. My work is a dialogue with material, grounded in a reverence for repetition and craft. I’m always pushing clay to the edge, seeking that sweet spot just before collapse. Read more through the link in our bio. #sculpturalceramics #contemporarycraft #sculpture #artprocess #sculpturalobject #contemporaryceramics, #keramic #ceramicart by @kgabrielstudio

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a year ago

Join me and textile artist, Carrie Crawford, @mineralworkshop this Saturday afternoon from 1-5pm for an informal chat @hugomentosf.

Holding Space: Pattern, Form, Thread

Come say hello and afterward, check out the last day of @fogfair @fortmasoncenter for more art!

#artisttalk #sfgallery #artexhibit #sanfranciscoartgallery #sculpturalceramics #artanddesign #bayareaartists #contemporaryclay #kgabrielstudio taken in San Francisco, California by @kgabrielstudio

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2 years ago

The Silica show @santacruzmah last Friday was packed, you will see if you keep swiping. It was so great to catch up with so many folks I haven’t seen in a long time and a joy to meet new friends. I’m grateful to @stanwelsh for including me in the show. There are 60 artists in the exhibition, so I only included a small sample in this post.
1. Pre-opening video
2. @annakatrinburnham - love this piece!
3. @kgabrielstudio - happy to show with her again
4. @sarafriedlanderart - looking forward to discussing all things Japan when you visit.
5.,6. @arthur7582 & @stanwelsh - I’m in the fan club!
7. @stanwelsh - hope to see you at the Dome Nov7 for open studios
8.,9. @tiffanyschmierer - so good to catch up!
10. @edwardsoyeng - love the combo! I want to assign something similar to my students
11. @adam.shiv - your experimentation is inspiring
12. Me squeezed in with my piece
13. Video of the massive crowd. We were all sweating like crazy in that space. by @kgabrielstudio

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a month ago

I'm thrilled to be featured in the September 2026 issue of @ceramics_monthly, part of Bold Choices.

Link to the featured article and more in my bio 👆 by @kgabrielstudio

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2 months ago

I'm thrilled to share my latest work, Whispered Sunburst, installed in a beautifully designed lobby by @genslerbayarea. Composed of 3000+ individual porcelain slabs, pattern and repetition create a sense of movement across the surface and embraces scale to activate the surrounding space.
From a distance, the work reads as a unified graphic composition, anchoring the lounge while visually connecting its various zones. The arrangement loosely evokes a sunburst, where modules are clustered more densely at the center and gradually expands outward, yet resists literal interpretation. Abstraction remains central to my work, alluding to our natural environment but not dependent on that conceptual reference.
Up close, the undulating clay slabs create nuanced shifts in color revealing complex textures and rhythms.
This installation was a true labor of love. Thank you @lauragrigsbysf for bringing me into the fold and supporting the arts!
📸 @johnjanca taken in South San Francisco, California by @kgabrielstudio

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2 months ago

My interview with @pdblais on The Potters Cast has dropped! We spoke about my origin story, art as a quieting practice for a chaotic world and how creating is the most fundamental form of expressing my (our) humanness.
Give a listen and let me know what you think. ⭐ Link in my bio ⭐

thepotterscast.com
Episode 1239

#artpodcast #studioceramics #thepotterscast taken in Fairfax, California by @kgabrielstudio

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4 months ago

My work is made by hand - every coil, slab, and pinch, layer by layer. People often comment that I must have “so much patience” or that it “must take such a long time to make.”

It’s a curious but understandable observation. Our culture prizes efficiency and immediacy and I’m not immune to time. I spent 25 years designing for corporate America, where creative output was measured against schedules, fees, and profit.

So why do we bow to expediency?

Making art is the original immersive experience. It’s a full sensory moment as the cool, damp clay squeezes between my hands, responding to my touch. I often close my eyes while slowly rolling coils, letting my fingertips register the slightest changes in thickness. I’m curious, incredibly focused, and often times, giddy at my worktable.

That said, it’s not always easy. Clay cracks. Pieces warp. That amazing idea sometimes falls flat. But I’m immensely grateful to dance in our cultural landscape and deeply honored when someone choses to live with my work.

For me, creating is about slowing down. It’s about being present, cutting through the noise and finding my own voice. Making art can't be viewed through the lens of efficiency. It's more like jumping into a river and trusting the current to carry you somewhere unexpected.

So let’s celebrate the bends and curves in the river. Nothing meaningful comes from a perfectly straight line.

Efficiency be damned.

#sculpturalceramics #creativitymatters #artprocess taken in Fairfax, California by @kgabrielstudio

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4 months ago

It's rare I have a wall sculpture available in the studio but this beauty awaits her forever home.

'Catch Me When I Fall No. 2'
40" h x 43" w x 3" d

I'm exploring a more gestural, painterly surface using metal oxides on natural porcelain. Perhaps I'm moving into my abstract expressionist phase?

DM for more details. taken in Fairfax, California by @kgabrielstudio

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4 months ago

Final two weekends to catch 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩 𝙇𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝘾𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙨 @pencegallery in Davis, California - through June 3, 2026.

With a focus on materiality, each of the five artists in this exhibition has evolved their own visual vocabulary and unique abstract language of form.

What an honor to show with this stellar group of friends!
@kgabrielstudio
@mark_goudy
@krismarubayashi
@lizariddle
@laura_van_duren

#abstractceramicsculpture
#collectableceramics
#artgallery taken in Pence Gallery by @kgabrielstudio

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5 months ago

Set up and ready - Open Studios is happening this weekend. Come see the cleanest studio I'll ever have filled with new work! Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, 11-6pm. DM for more info or checkout @marinopenstudios for location map.

#marinopenstudios #sculpturalceramics #kgabrielstudio #bayareaartist taken in Fairfax, California by @kgabrielstudio

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6 months ago

THIS WEEKEND
Marin Open Studios
Saturday, May 2nd, 11-6
Sunday, May 3rd, 11-6

Join me in the studio and explore my latest works, experiments and inspiration!

Studio: 55 Hillside Drive, Fairfax, CA

Find over 260 artist studios with the digital tour guide available @marinopenstudios. My studio info and map location are under artist listing 117.

#marinopenstudios #bayareaartists #studiovisit #sculpturalceramics #contemporaryclay taken in Fairfax, California by @kgabrielstudio

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6 months ago