About Gina

Baltimore City

In everything she undertakes, mixed-media artist Gina Pierleoni brings individual elements together to create a more cohesive and loving whole.  Most of the series she creates are ongoing and have been in process for over 30 years.

Her portrait installations feature real people, gathered together as a community or congregation. Old paintings are reworked in larger configurations for Human Icons that record a transformative… more

LED Board; Installation Shots; "Gina Pierleoni: Untitled Flag" interview

The LED Board, across from Baltimore's Penn Station, projects artwork 51 feet high providing an opportunity for artwork to be visible for miles. 

This video, part of a series called “Motivation on Mondays”, was filmed and edited by Myles Banks of Just Stunt Productions.  Our conversation happened inside the exhibit "Gina Pierleoni: Untitled Flag.

Installation shots show paintings flat on the wall and  wrapped around architectural elements.

  • LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore 51' projection
  • LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore 51' projection
  • LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore
  • Conversation with Myles Banks at 'Gina Pierleoni: Untitled Flag'.
    Conversation with Myles Banks, producer of 'Motivation on Monday' at 'Gina Pierleoni: Untitled Flag'.
  • Gina Pierleoni: Color Coded installation detail
    Gina Pierleoni: Color Coded installation detail
    Gina Pierleoni: Color Coded (installation detail)
  • Gina Pierleoni: Color Coded installation detail
    Gina Pierleoni: Color Coded installation detail
    Portrait (left) acrylic and torn paintings and to-do lists on paper 22"x10" The Queen (right) repurposed materials, thread and shelf size varies with positioning
  • WE ARE THEM (installation shot)
    WE ARE THEM (installation shot)
    WE ARE THEM (installation shot)
  • Gina Pierleoni: Human Icons (installation detail)
    Gina Pierleoni: Human Icons (installation detail)
    Gina Pierleoni: Human Icons (installation detail)

More Mixed Media Portraits

My mixed media paintings are created over weeks, months and years, each lovingly realized.  I start with a model, paying close attention to impressions and our conversations.  Both form the heart of the piece.  After our time together, I continue alone recalling as much as possible about the sitter and our time together.  The remainder of what happens is intuited.  I draw, paint, scratch into, collage. Hand-made stencils and stamps create additional layers. Gender, race and age sometimes blur.  Figures emerge from long histories of surfaces and ghosted images.  These are real people, alive, changing, vulnerable and genuine.

 

  • Portraits #155 & #183
    Portraits #155 & #183
  • Liz and Me
    Liz and Me
    Liz and Me oil, acrylic, ink, marker, colored pencil and graphite on paper 22"x19"
  • Pods
    Pods
  • Painted Stories
    Painted Stories
    Painted Stories is 60 mixed media portraits built as a large structure. Most portraits feature real people and each portrait has a story written on the back of the panel. Here's an example of one of the stories: "Another Saturday painting Jenn in her butterfly dress, sitting so calmly, no boys, no noise. I added 'hydrogen', the first element, to Jenn's portrait. Her home life was, from the telling of it, like a time bomb... highly flammable like hydrogen. Somehow, she balanced those realities... the calm, the ticking bomb and the butterfly.
  • Thea (with Bevin hidden), Gale and Laura
    Thea (with Bevin hidden), Gale and Laura
    oil, acrylic, colored pencil, graphite, ink and torn paintings on paper approximately 21"x9" each
  • #269, #231 & #280
    #269, #231 & #280
    acrylic, oil, ball point pen, graphite on paper Each panel is approximately 22"x9.5"
  • Luminous
    Luminous

    Luminous (Myles)

    from the Human Icons series

    acrylic, graphite, marker and colored pencil on paper 30"x22"

  •  #270, #274 & #264 (all Kyle)
    #270, #274 & #264 (all Kyle)
    acrylic, oil, graphite, ink, colored pencil and torn paintings on paper Each panel is approximately 22"x9.5"
  • Transmission
    Transmission
    “Transmission” considers connection, communication and isolation during the pandemic as inhaling and exhaling at close range is risky. One of ‘the gifts of COVID-19’ is discovering alternate ways to cultivate community and practice self-leadership. Though physically separated from one another, we continue to share experiences, exchange ideas, images and support. acrylic, graphite, marker and colored pencil on paper 31"x22.5"
  • LED Board, Baltimore
    LED Board, Baltimore

COLOR CODED, Solo Exhibition

COLOR CODED: a solo exhibition at CCBC, Baltimore, Maryland

Curated by Trisha Kyner and Osvaldo Mesa
Photographs by Joseph Hyde
  • The Deepest Sleep
    The Deepest Sleep
    26"x11"x6" mixed media and shelf
  • Something Old
    Something Old
    23"x18"x7" mixed media and shelf
  • Stealth
    Stealth
    mixed media and shelf
  • Granny's Angel
    Granny's Angel
    mixed media and shelf
  • Face #251  and The Queen
    Face #251 and The Queen
    Face #251: acrylic in and torn paintings on paper, 21"x10.5" The Queen: mixed media and shelf
  • installation view of 'WE ARE THEM'
    installation view of 'WE ARE THEM'
    acrylic, pastel, ink, graphite, colored pencil and torn paintings on paper, each panel approximately 22"x10"
  • Reprogramming and Headed Home
    Reprogramming and Headed Home
    acrylic, pastel, ink, colored pencil and torn paintings on paper, each painting 42"x27"
  • 'Color Coded' installation view
    'Color Coded' installation view
    acrylic, pastel, ink, colored pencil and torn paintings on paper, sizes vary"
  • 'Color Coded' installation view
    'Color Coded' installation view
    sizes vary mixed media and shelves
  • 'Color Coded' installation view
    'Color Coded' installation view
    mixed media

Statues for My Father

After my father died, my mother handed me a stack of his funeral cards and said, "Why don't you make something from these?"  The cards honor his name (Gino Pierleoni, so close to mine), birth/death dates and the images and religious practice that was important to him.  I wondered whether there would be a point during the alteration process when these religious figures might no longer be considered sacred. As the images transformed from Jesus, Mary and the Saints to become regular people, the images remained sacred.

The final pieces are mounted on wood, freestanding like statues.

  • Daughter of the Lions
    Daughter of the Lions
    mixed media, torn paintings and to-do lists on paper mounted on wood approximately 9"x2.5"x1"
  • Modern Mary
    Modern Mary
    mixed media on paper mounted on wood approximately 12"x4"x1"
  • Four Statues
    Four Statues
    mixed media on paper mounted on wood Each statue is approximately: 8.5"x2.5"x1"
  • Self Portrait
    Self Portrait
    mixed media on paper mounted on wood approximately: 8.5"x2.5"x1"
  • Statues installation
    Statues installation
    Statue installation mixed media on paper mounted on wood and placed on shelves each approximately 9"x3"x1"
  • Do Not Look Outside Yourself
    Do Not Look Outside Yourself
    mixed media and torn paintings on paper mounted on wood approximately 10"x2.5"x1"
  • The Black Pants
    The Black Pants
    mixed media on paper mounted on wood 8.5"x2""x1"
  • Three Statues
    Three Statues
    mixed media on paper mounted on wood End statues are approximately: 8.5"x2.5"x1"
  • St. Patrick Pointing
    St. Patrick Pointing
    mixed media and torn paintings on paper mounted on wood approximately 10"x4"x1"
  • St. Theresa
    St. Theresa
    mixed media and torn paintings on paper mounted on wood approximately 10"x2"x1"

Birds

I've always loved birds.  In the last few years however, they've become a lifeline.  My husband passed a few weeks before everything shut down with COVID. The more things devolved, the more I turned to birds for solace.  I watched for them, listened to their conversations and trusted that no matter what happened, nests would continue to be made, baby birds would be born, and one day leave their nests.

No matter what happens in the world, I continue to find solace in the presence of birds.  And they continue to find a place in my paintings.
 

 

  • Percolation Pose
    Percolation Pose

    Percolation Pose

    (from the Human Icon series)

    The less I understand about where people go after their bodies die, the more credence I give to the birds as intermediaries between worlds, as though they don't recognize a dividing line.  Birds will continue to find a place in my paintings.

    Acrylic, graphite, colored pencil, hand-cut stamps and stencils on paper, 52”x 42”, 2023

    Available for Purchase
  • Unfolding
    Unfolding

    Unfolding

    acrylic, graphite and colored pencil on paper, 42"x26"

    Available for Purchase
  • Inhalation
    Inhalation

    Inhalation

    acrylic, charcoal and pastel on paper

  • Come and Go
    Come and Go

    “Come and Go”, inspired by my painting class, became our circle as if we were meeting in person. There’s a bowl for each student. Bowls are symbolic of giving and receiving. Birds dip into the circle and fly away in different directions. The horizon line grounds the group.

    acrylic, graphite, marker and colored pencil 31"x45"

  • Up
    Up

    Up

    acrylic, graphite, colored pencil and hand-cut stencils on paper, 30"x22"

  • Navigating Tendrils
    Navigating Tendrils

    The stuff of life: hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, beauty / The words we say to ourselves and others / Birds nesting, fledging, holding on, letting go

    oil, acrylic, graphite and hand-cut stamps on paper, 21"x21.5"

  • This Moment is Every Moment
    This Moment is Every Moment

    This Moment is Every Moment

    (from the Human Icon series)

    acrylic, charcoal, marker and graphite on paper, 30"x44"

    Available for Purchase
  • Portraits #147 and #309
    Portraits #147 and #309

    Portraits #147 & #309

    acrylic, oil, graphite, ink, colored pencil, torn old paintings and to-do lists on paper, 22"x10" each

  • Home Care
    Home Care

    Home Care

    acrylic, graphite, colored pencil and hand-cut stencils and stamps on paper, 42"x26"

  • Installation including several Bird paintings
    Installation including several Bird paintings

    Installation including several Bird paintings.

Recombined / Remapped Paintings

Working on paper lends itself to altering surface sizes easily. Sometimes an edge is removed and occasionally, entire paintings are torn down. Over 30 years, I have saved all the torn pieces regardless of size. I am  an avid list maker and they are eventually torn down too. The combined 'tiles' create a visual rewriting or reorganizing where nothing is lost, but instead transformed. Tearing down, sorting and re-using serve as metaphors for recreating and mapping  new courses in  art and  life. 
  • Heading Home
    Heading Home
    acrylic, ink, and colored pencil on paper, 26"x42"
  • Reprogramming
    Reprogramming
    "Reprogramming" began as an attempt to refocus my thoughts. I used pieces of to-do lists and a letter from Hopi Elders that said, among other things, "We are the ones we've been waiting for." The natural form can be read as roots or the sprouting of a tree. Acrylic, pastel, and torn paintings on paper, 42"x27"
  • Face #98
    Face #98
    acrylic, ink, colored pencil and torn paintings on paper 21"x9"
  • Face #248
    Face #248
    acrylic and torn paintings on paper 21"x10"
  • The Edges That Blur
    The Edges That Blur
    This painting was made with the intention of blending the US and Iraqi flags. A citizen is embedded in each flag's stripes. acrylic, pastel and torn paintings on paper
  • Face #169
    Face #169
    acrylic, ink and torn paintings on paper 21"x9.5"
  • Face $249
    Face $249
    acrylic, graphite and torn paintings on paper 21"x9"
  • With Wings
    With Wings
    "With Wings" explores the unpredictable transition from youth to adulthood. Included are coins for luck and the beginnings of wings. acrylic,pastel and torn paintings on paper, 41"x24"
  • The Patriot
    The Patriot
    "The Patriot" was begun after September 11th and completed many years later. It explores patriotism and references a human Patriot missile. acrylic, pastel, and torn paintings on paper, 69"x26"

What We Say: Painted Poems

Years ago, a scientist friend reminded me that our bodies are made up of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon. As a primarily figurative painter, I had been searching for ways to describe the human form without being so literal. First I made paintings of elements. Little by little, I selected other words, "US, THEM, ME, YOU" for instance, to explore ideas of stance, positioning, and allegiance.
Words find their way to my studio slowly. Their widely interspersed arrivals offer me the opportunity to contemplate each word visually and conceptually. Now, with approximately 35 words at my disposal, I am piecing them together to form paintings with more specific meanings. Through this painted poetic process, I am exploring the complexities of language.
  • WE desire
    WE desire
    acrylic on paper, 8.5"x8"
  • all of us
    all of us
    acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 9.5"x 18"
  • grow art
    grow art
    acrylic on paper, 9"x8"
  • are WE hips
    are WE hips
    acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 12"x12"
  • listen be home ask
    listen be home ask
    acrylic and colored pencil on paper, 8"x12"
  • WE are
    WE are
    acrylic on paper, 14"x22"
  • care
    care
    acrylic on paper, 4"x7"
  • carbon desire
    carbon desire
    acrylic on paper, 8"x6"
  • be respect
    be respect
    acrylic on paper, 8.5"x7"
  • be between
    be between
    acrylic on paper, 13"x7"

Forgetting Memory

 

My mother, a healthy and active 86 year-old, developed an infection which traveled to her brain. Overninght, she was completely transformed, bed ridden and frail. Initially, she was only able to say a handful of phrases which, strung together, seemed meaningless: “You know”, "Wow”, and “I was thinking “.  Every once in a while she had moments of startling clarity.

In the next few months, she rebounded and  learned to walk with a walker. Her ability to speak returned but her memory was dramatically impacted. She asked questions like, “Was I a good mother?” and “Was I a good wife?”   She didn't remember all of her 9 children unless she named them from oldest to youngest. My parents had been married for over 50 years but she'd misplaced her memories of  him.  It was as if the files in her brain had been randomly ransacked and areas were deleted or mismatched.  

In many ways, she was more content because she didn't remember what troubled her in the past. My mother became funnier, even to herself, asking questions like, “What do you call the thing with two holes?”  I replied, “Pants?” She called her walker a wagon and most of the time was OK with her mix-ups. It was game we played of remembering and sometimes I got the answers right.

These drawings reflect the space between my mother's mind before and after, memory and forgetting, the frustration of losing something you can’t find again, and the playful moments that sometimes happen when loss is treated like an adventure.
 

  • Chatter
    Chatter
  • Forgetting Memory
    Forgetting Memory
    Forgetting Memory My mother, a healthy, active 86-year old, developed an infection which traveled to her brain. She was completely transformed, bed ridden and frail. Initially, she was only able to say a handful of phrases which, strung together, seemed meaningless: “You know”, "Wow”, and “I was thinking.” Every once in a while, she had moments of startling clarity. In the next few months, she rebounded and learned to walk with a walker. Her ability to speak returned but her memory was dramatically impacted. She asked questions like, “Was I a good mother?” and “Was I a good wife?” She didn't remember all of her 9 children unless she named them from oldest to youngest. My parents had been married for over 50 years but she'd misplaced her memories of him. It was as if the files in her brain had been randomly ransacked and areas were deleted or mismatched. In many ways, she was more content because she didn't remember what troubled her in the past. My mother became funnier, even to herself, asking questions like, “What do you call the thing with two holes?” I replied, “Pants?” She called her walker a wagon and most of the time was OK with her mix-ups. It was game we played of remembering and sometimes I got the answers right. These drawings reflect the space between my mother's mind before and after, memory and forgetting, the frustration of losing something you can’t find again, and the playful moments that sometimes happen when loss is treated like an adventure.
  • Forgetting Memory
    Forgetting Memory
    from the series Forgetting Memory acrylic, marker, ball point pen and typed paper on paper 7"x5"
  • Bird Watching
    Bird Watching
    acrylic, ink and photograph on paper 5"x14"
  • Sisters
    Sisters
    from the Forgetting Memory series 5"x14" acrylic, graphite, ink, thread, fabric on paper
  • Packing
    Packing
    from the series Forgetting Memory acrylic, marker and graphite on paper 5"x7"
  • Questions
    Questions
    acrylic, ink and graphite on paper 10"x16"
  • Beads
    Beads
  • The List
    The List
  • Crazy?
    Crazy?

Sewn Figures

The sewn figures parallel my painting and mixed media processes.  Stitching is drawing, fabric is paint, and attached objects create layers. Through collecting, sorting  and valuing, materials headed for the landfill are sewn together to make something whole again.

Each figure is made entirely from discarded and re-purposed materials (except for thread and paint). Materials have included: electric toothbrush rings, gift bag handles, any small things with holes in them, shoelaces, broken costume jewelry, hospital socks, old beads and buttons, rosaries and medals of saints, graduation tassels, sequins, leather scraps, fabric and yarn. Everything is sewn together with a simple looping stitch.

  • Taproot
    Taproot

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread.

    25"x10"x6"

  • Happenstance
    Happenstance

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread and beads.

    24"x12"x5"

  • Velveteen
    Velveteen

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread.

    23"x8"x6"

  • Broken Rosary
    Broken Rosary

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread and beads.

    21"x14"x8"

  • A Particular Direction
    A Particular Direction

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread and beads.

    22"x12"x5"

    Available for Purchase
  • A Particular Direction (detail)
    A Particular Direction (detail)
  • Untitled
    Untitled

    21"x12"x8"

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread and beads.

  • My Pajama Pants
    My Pajama Pants

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread.

    22"x13"x5"

  • SewnFigures
    SewnFigures

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread. Sizes vary.

    Sewn Figures installation at 'Unfolding', Stevenson University Greenspring Campus, MD

    Available for Purchase
  • Glisten
    Glisten

    Hand-sewn figure made from 100% recycled and repurposed materials excluding thread and breads.

    Available for Purchase

Painting Rag Shirts

Painting Rag Shirts

I’m making parallel sets of paintings: one intentional, the other created from what’s left behind.  My painting rags have accumulated for over 40 years, a byproduct of wiping paint, blending it, and cleaning hand-cut stencil and stamps. My palette has changed many times over the years.  Without any conscious effort, these cut up T-shirts rags become paintings.

The pieces are sorted into short and long sleeves, bottom edges, necklines and middle sections.  A simple, visible hand-sewn looping stitch brings all the pieces together, unearthing their another T-shirt and implying the figure inside.  

Some pieces like My Father’s Last Shirt are memorials.  Fur Shirt is a collection of hundreds of small rag trimmings that together created unexpected billowing results. 

There are so many things we give up on because we can’t envision the potential and inherent beauty in them: things, places, each other. For me, these former rags create an opportunity for embracing history, possibility and transformation.

  • The Music
    The Music

    Someone gave me an old, tattered Pink Floyd T-shirt I knew I'd never wear.  Though the band and Dark Side of the Moon were part of my coming of age, it became a studio rag instantly.  When searching for just the right scraps for a new shirt, I came across Pink Floyd again.  I had to put a little piece on the image front and back, to create a place for the music.

  • M
    M
    Painting rags reassembled and sewn back together, acrylic and thread on cotton fabric
  • Literal Timeline
    Literal Timeline

    When I was piecing this shirt together, I noticed the scraps were from different years based on my changing palette.  I started dating each scrap from the 1980's, 90's, 2000's and beyond.  Once the shirt was sewn together, I wanted to amplify the timeline of the paintings that made the rags. Arrows point to each year.

  • Last Shirt
    Last Shirt
    2 weeks before my father died, it became difficult to get T-shirts over his head and my mother cut the fronts for easier access. In this shirt, I created something to honor his transition, using a stone wall to describe his dying process. Stones are laid strong and firm. They protect us and mark where we are. Over time, stones fall down changing the shape of the wall. There is also an image of a lion on the front of the shirt. My father's last name (and mine) Pierleoni, means "father of the lion." Painting rags reassembled and sewn back together, acrylic and thread on cotton fabric
  • Layer Cake
    Layer Cake

    All I can think of when I look at this shirt is a layer cake.  I'm reminded of the awkward layer cakes I made as a kid in my Easy Bake oven.  I served them proudly, cut into 11 tiny pieces.

  • Ay
    Ay

    The face on this shirt was originally on another T-shirt that wore out along the armpits and sleeves.  I couldn't let my stencil portrait go, so I turned the image into part of the Painting Rag Shirts series, breathing new life into it again.

  • Earth Stars
    Earth Stars

    This shirt is mainly comprised of my two former favorite studio shirts, one long sleeved and one sleeveless.  I was making word painting stamps, so 'earth' and 'stars' appear on the shirt in places.  While cleaning the stamps, the words transferred to the shirt.

  • Fur Shirt
    Fur Shirt

    As an avid collector and recycler, it is difficult to throw away the littlest scraps, especially when they are so beautiful. The Fur Shirt was created by individually and obsessively sewing hundreds of strands of painting rags onto a shirt made of reassembled painting rags. The shirt refers to fur because the many layers create a thick, billowing effect. Painting rags reassembled and sewn back together, acrylic and thread on cotton fabric

  • Painting Rag Shirts Rolled Up
    Painting Rag Shirts Rolled Up

    Here are some of the Rag Shirts rolled up for storage.  They remind me of colorful sardines.

  • Mystic
    Mystic

    Every once in a while, my family would pile into the station wagon and head to Mystic, Connecticut for a day trip.  With 9 kids, there weren't enough seats so the 2 youngest sat sideways with legs overlapping in what was probably a storage area. 

    While making this shirt, I was remembering the times all 11 of us squeezed into whatever station wagon we had at the time. Assigned seating was the rule whether we were going to church or to Long Island to visit my mother's parents who lived in an apartment above a gas station, our two most frequent destinations.

    I drew a seating chart map on the bottom of the shirt.