Gabriella Picone is a New York based artist and designer working in painting, textiles and ceramics. Her practice is fueled by her exploration of materials, her feminine identity and her creative upbringing in both Sicily and in New York. Her work utilizes unexpected techniques, ornate patterns and vivid iconography reminiscent of Roman mythology and Sicilian folklore. Through a painterly approach and inherent interest in art and craft, Gabriella weaves cultural and historical references into a contemporary context.
Picone graduated from The Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Painting. In 2019 she founded Idda Studio, celebrating the mother, daughter, sister, grandmother, aunt and friend. The studio has been featured in Architectural Digest, Surface Magazine, Domino Magazine and Sight Unseen.
"The Fiori Mirror series is a collection of unique handmade mirrors. All of the pieces are hand built out of delicate porcelain clay, then fired in pieces and assembled. In this work I use the 'nerikomi' technique in which I manipulate the color of the clay by mixing specific raw pigments into the white porcelain. This is a traditional Japanese process that is very time consuming and precise but allows for me to control the color of the clay without using any glazes. Coming from a painting background, I love being able to use the colored clay to create delicate and unexpected decorative surface motifs. In these designs I will often reference patterns from flowers, rocks and minerals to create unique forms." — Gabriella Picone, September 2022
