Michelle Gagliano: Material/Mater/Mother

Les Yeux du Monde is pleased to present Michelle Gagliano’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, Material/Mater/Mother, opening Friday, May 9th at LYDM. In her new body of work, Gagliano explores the intimate relationship between substance and source, employing only natural materials in a manner that honors their origins in the earth. Reflecting her dedication to a sustainable studio practice, the exhibition’s title references the shared linguistic roots of "material" and "mother," underscoring the true source of the components used in her work.

This exhibition follows a significant period of international recognition for Gagliano. In 2024, she was invited to present a solo exhibition at Casa Natale di Raffaello — the museum located in the birthplace of Renaissance master Raphael in Urbino, Italy — where she exhibited contemporary works created using Raphael’s original paint recipes. In a rare honor, one of Gagliano’s paintings from the exhibition was acquired into the permanent collection of Casa Natale di Raffaello. Gagliano was also granted official sponsorship from the Accademia Raffaello to establish an international artist residency program, which will launch in 2026 and focus on sustainable studio practices. Furthering her well-deserved record of recent accomplishments, two of Gagliano’s works were acquired in 2025 for the permanent public collection of the University of Virginia.

Informed by principles of sustainability and historical technique, Gagliano creates her own paints using only non-toxic materials — natural gold pigment, walnut and lavender oils, egg tempera, and foraged pigment sources like Albemarle County clay and grapevine charcoal, among others. Her process blends earth, fire, air, and water — the fundamental elements — in an intuitive, meditative practice that transforms natural matter into luminous, gestural compositions. The resulting paintings speak to cycles of transformation and the quiet force of elemental creation, echoing the rhythms and rich landscapes of the world around her. While certain materials used are drawn from local terrain, the work also gestures outward, incorporating globally sourced elements like ultramarine and verdigris, and engaging with the rich histories of pigment and centuries of artistic exchange. Every material in Gagliano’s studio is interrogated for its origin and impact, grounding her practice in a reverence for the earth as the ultimate source of all matter and creative potential.

Michelle Gagliano received her B.F.A. from Plymouth State University and her M.F.A. from American University in Washington, D.C. She is a VMFA Fellow and has held residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Chautauqua School of Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and is included in important public and private collections, including that of the Burchfield Penney Art Center and the University of Virginia. In recognition of her commitment to environmentally responsible studio practices, she has been an active member of the Gallery Climate Coalition — an organization with rigorous sustainability standards for membership — for two consecutive years.

Material/Mater/Mother will be on view at LYDM from Friday, May 9th through Sunday, June 29th, with an opening reception on Friday, May 9th from 5-7PM. A Luncheon & Artist Talk Event will take place on Sunday, June 1st at 12:30PM and requires RSVP to info@lydmgallery.com. Les Yeux du Monde is located at 841 Wolf Trap Road and is open Thursday through Sunday, 1 to 5 PM, or by private appointment outside these hours. For more information, visit lydmgallery.com, email info@lydmgallery.com, or call 434-882-2622.