Inside the Studio

Visit with Gail Tarantino

Artist Gail Tarantino's studio with large text-based works on paper installed on white walls.

Take a look at Gail Tarantino's newest paintings on linen and paper ahead of her exhibition at Uprise Art, Contexture.

Artist Gail Tarantino painting white lines on a gray linen canvas in her studio.

A ladder in front of a large, text-based work on paper in artist Gail Tarantino's studio.

Close-up of artwork with concealed text by artist Gail Tarantino.

Gail's large-scale works reference the woven tactility of textiles and are created from acrylic ink washes that simultaneously reveal and conceal snippets of text. Her works focus on thinking of ways to interpret language and its myriad meanings.

Pulling together text, texture, and context is a form of spontaneous thought, akin to a written letter emerging on the page.
Gail Tarantino

Color grid next to artist Gail Tarantino's text-based work.

Close-up of yellow text-based work by artist Gail Tarantino.

Close-up of artist Gail Tarantino painting white lines on a grey linen canvas.

Gail's work often begins with drafting short narratives or letters which she then translates into color and form. Though encoding and obfuscating her writing, Gail creates images that question the validity of interpretation.

I might use a color that evokes a specific word. Sometimes it is literal, simply using white paint when writing the word ‘white’. Letting one color bleed into another creates a marble-like quality that is magic. Creating a rhythmic pattern within the structure is part of the process of the overall composition.
Gail Tarantino