“I am drawn to etching because of the alchemy of the medium. I embrace the fact that this process makes you slow down, and that you never quite know what you are going to get until the plate is printed." - Gillian Garnica
Gillian’s work is about paring down line and form to a minimum in order to create a quiet yet powerful presence. Her background as a photographer informs her approach to printmaking as she seeks out chance compositions in the world, reducing structures to their most basic, as if discovering a found drawing. These spare compositions convey a repose from the noise and fast pace of contemporary life. The work is both the feel of the printed paper as an object and the small details within, asking to be looked at closer to notice subtle variations that add depth and character to the piece.
Accolades
Education: First-Class Degree in Photography and a Masters in Multidisciplinary Printmaking.
Awards: Winner, Galleries Magazine Award at BITE: Artists Making Prints and received the Rebecca Smith Award, 2013.
Recipient of a Print Fellowship from the University of the West of England and awarded a bursary to study etching at Crown Point Press in San Francisco, 2015
Gillian works as a Technical Instructor in the Print Centre at UWE and is a Tutor and Editioner at Spike Print Studio.
Instagram: @gillian_garnica