Abby Gregg is an Interdisciplinary Artist working primarily in Painting, Sculpture, and Sound

Abby completed an MFA in Studio Arts at the San Francisco Art Institute, a BFA in Painting and Art-Education from the University of Georgia, and currently teaches at University of Colorado, Denver and Metropolitan State University, Denver. Abby shows with Pirate Contemporary Art in Denver.

Artist Statement:

My paintings are imagined ecosystems, stemming from the wonder of deep time. Microscopic, amphibious, and submerged unseen realms call out with sparkling uncertainty and a vulnerable urgency. The environments in my paintings are imaginings that merge a sense of prehistoric and futuristic time; somehow both peaceful and apocalyptic, and brimming with life. 

 In my artworks communities of diverse forms populate and interact within layers of toxic residue. Metaphorical biomes connect my unconscious climate anxieties, imaginings of reclaimed anthropogenic waste, and possibilities of resilient, symbiotic futures. Imagery conjures narratives of treacherous, plastic landscapes reshaped by time and vivid decoration.

I’m interested in the complexity of living beings who require defense mechanisms, membranes, and extensions of themselves for communication and safety. Creatures like the decorator crab that adorn themselves for survival are a reminder that vibrant expression is critical to living in the turbulent waters of dystopia. Corals are animals that provide a home to entire ecosystems. Photosynthetic algae within them feeds their corals in return for shelter. What if we fed our home? Or provided generative space for others? Drawing a parallel between human capacity and that of coral reefs; these narrative landscapes shelter, tend, and interact with reciprocity. 

Within my recent body of work there is a feedback loop of inspiration and image-making. Imaginative sculptures are documented through photography, then transformed into collages, and finally into monumental paintings. Referencing the tradition of history paintings, these works depict deep past and speculative futures, and encourage new ways of seeing the present.