Gina Keatley’s work is an assertion of movement, urgency, and transformation. Each piece exists in a state of flux, capturing the precise moment where stillness gives way to motion, where restraint is met with expansion. With a mastery of texture and an instinct for contrast, Keatley constructs compositions that balance delicacy with force, inviting viewers into the tension between what is fleeting and what remains.
Her latest series, Aurora, is an exploration of light as an evolving presence, a force that shapes the world while resisting containment. It is a study of transition, where each brushstroke, layer, and surface disruption mirrors the inevitability of change. Keatley does not depict light; she captures its movement, its insistence on progress, its refusal to be still.
Origin: New York City, USA
Currently Exhibiting in: New York City
Website: Untamed Moderns
Social Media: Instagram: @untamedmoderns
Bio
Aurora is Keatley’s response to the phenomenon of dawn, the fleeting moment where night cedes to the inevitable encroachment of day. In this body of work, light is not a passive subject but an active force, shaping and reshaping the space it inhabits. The series is an invitation to witness this shift in real time, to engage with the tension of what is passing and what is emerging.
At the center of the collection is Solace Break, a six-panel composition that unfolds across the canvas like a horizon in motion. The muted palette of soft whites, pale grays, and subdued blush tones forms the foundation of the piece, creating a sense of calm that is continuously disrupted by bursts of Keatley’s signature mandarin orange. These interruptions of color act as fragments of light breaking through, evidence of transformation already in progress.
Throughout the work, Keatley employs her Rainfall Drip Technique, a layering of delicate, scattered speckles that suggest the quiet dissolution of mist at first light. This interplay of texture and tone creates a surface that is not static but alive, shifting as the viewer moves, as the light in the room changes, as perception itself evolves. The Halo Accents punctuate the panels with small, luminous interruptions, lingering like remnants of something just beyond reach.
Aurora is about the experience of sunrise, the moment when the world is neither one thing nor another but something in between. It is about the urgency of transition, the inevitability of forward motion, the quiet force that carries us from what was into what will be.
Featured Artwork at Bushwick Gallery
Solace Break (Aurora Series)
- Year of Creation: 2025
- Medium: Acrylic on canvas (Six-panel composition)
- Dimensions: 48” x 24” per panel
- Price: $14,600
- Description:
Solace Break captures the moment light fractures the horizon, stretching across six panels in an uninterrupted progression. The restrained palette of diffused whites and grays is punctuated by shifting fields of soft blush and deep mandarin, where color does not settle but instead pulses, recedes, and re-emerges. Keatley’s Rainfall Drip Technique, scattered across the surface like the last remnants of night dissolving into morning, reinforces the sense of transition. The Halo Accents flicker across the panels, appearing and disappearing as the viewer moves, mirroring the fleeting nature of dawn itself.
Each panel stands alone, yet together they form a continuous rhythm, echoing the cadence of breath, the slow expansion of first light, the measured inevitability of time slipping forward. There is no fixed moment in Solace Break—only movement, only change. The piece requires presence, urging the viewer to engage with its shifting planes and layered surfaces. The tension between restraint and expression, silence and emergence, is what defines the work, creating a composition that is as fleeting as it is enduring.
Keatley’s approach to Aurora, and to Solace Break in particular, is rooted in the belief that transition is not a concept but an experience, one that requires urgency, immediacy, and full engagement. In this piece, light is not captured; it is chased, pursued, held at the moment before it is gone.
Exhibition Information
March 2025: “Metamorphosis: Transformations in Art”
Curated by: Paridhi Chawla
Theme: Exploring transformation, change, and evolution through artistic expression.
Exhibition Dates: March 6 – March 13, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, March 6 | 6 PM – 8 PM
Guided audio experience
For accessibility, the full video transcript is provided below for those who prefer to read or are unable to listen.
“Gina Keatley’s Solace Break is a bold embrace of light and movement, a six-panel composition that unfolds like a horizon stretching toward possibility. The work does not dwell on what fades but instead celebrates the continuous unfolding of dawn—each moment charged with quiet energy, each panel a reflection of time in motion.
Soft whites and muted grays form a serene foundation, yet Keatley disrupts this stillness with bursts of mandarin orange—fragments of warmth breaking through, heralding transformation. Her Rainfall Drip Technique scatters delicate speckles across the surface, evoking the last traces of night dissolving into morning. Halo Accents flicker and shift, never settling, reinforcing the idea that light is not fixed but always in motion.
Unlike many artists who shy away from scale, Keatley embraces it with confidence. Solace Break commands space, its six panels working together as a rhythmic progression rather than a singular moment. Each stands independently yet is part of a greater movement—mirroring the steady expansion of light, the pulse of breath, the forward pull of time.
Here, light is not captured; it is pursued. Solace Break is an invitation to look ahead, to witness not just what changes, but what is emerging.”