About
"Art, for me, is sharing what moves me with the world. It helps me find answers to my questions— through the process of creating, but also via the discussions it evokes with others. I am stirred by injustice, and the violence we inflict on one another and our planet. My wish is to contribute, even in the smallest way, to making things better.
The paradox of our human nature puzzles me: how can we simultaneously crave connection and yet engage in its destruction? This tension, evident both in personal relationships and societal systems, consistently threads through my art. You can often see abstract human figures in relationships in my work, as for me the human body is where healing and connection starts.
To extend these stories into the viewer’s physical space as well as to reflect interconnectedness I use the concept of “Expanded Painting.” By pairing 2-D works with sculpture installations or live dancers, I transcend artistic boundaries, blurring the lines between inside and outside. Color makes my heart beat faster; as a child, I was always drawn to vivid, strong colors and contrasts. Traditional representation never touched me—abstract art, however, fuels my imagination.
My artistic process is rooted in introspection, mindfulness, and social observation. Beginning with stream-of-consciousness writing, I lay the emotional groundwork for each piece. In many layers of paint I play with techniques that minimize control and encourage physical engagement, allowing me to move seamlessly between analytical inquiry and intuition."
Bio
Gabriela Hirt is a self-taught German-Canadian artist whose work explores the origins of disconnection—to self, among people, and with nature, which she perceives as the key sources of human suffering. Born in Munich, Germany, Hirt spent the first half of her creative life working as a journalist and author, before relocating to Victoria, BC, Canada, on the traditional territory of the Lekwungen-speaking people.
Hirt's passion for visual art was sparked during a year sailing the Mediterranean with her partner and their two children in 2013/14. At the heart of her dynamic experimental practice are abstract paintings that integrate human figures, expanded through associated sculptures, performance, and video—often realised in interdisciplinary collaborations.
Notable exhibitions include her solo show Storied Bodies at Gibson’s Public Art Gallery, BC, 2023, and Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2022. Her first solo exhibition, The Indelible Mark— Legacy of a German Upbringing (Victoria, BC, 2021) also underscores her consistent exploration of social issues through art. In 2024, Hirt presented Erinnerungskörper—The Body as a Memory Keeper in Berlin, Germany, a solo exhibition and dance performance developed during a three-month residency with SomoS Art Space and fully funded by the Canada Council for the Arts. A related short film, shot in Berlin, is currently in production.
Upcoming artist residencies are at Hub Feenix in Finland in 2024 and at Kulturhaus Steinfurth, Germany in 2025, where her research-focused project includes co-leading a workshop on painting and connective mindfulness practices. She holds a Master of Arts in Political Science.
CV
Solo Exhibitions
Erinnerungskörper — The Body as a Memory Keeper, performance, paintings & sculptures, SomoS Art Space, Berlin, March 2024
Storied Bodies, (extended) paintings & sculptures, Gibsons Public Art Gallery, Gibsons, BC, January 2023
Dancers, online-solo show of new paintings, Artwrk.ca, May/June 2023
Storied Bodies, paintings & sculptures, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, Sept/Oct 2022
The Indelible Mark, paintings, interactive sculpture & mosaic installation, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, March 2021
8 min & 46 sec, solo pop up window-installation addressing discrimination and racism, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC 2020
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Interdisciplinary Projects
Impermanence Sucks, Thank god for Impermanence, mixed media photography series, in production, based on a collaboration with Silvia Montevecchi, Finland, 2024
Erinnerungskörper, Short film with Tabea Antonacci, Marie Elise Hufnagel, Hameed Al Saeed, Hannah Wolny and Baris Kutlu, in production, Berlin 2024
Erinnerungskörper, contemporary dance performance with paintings based on 3 months research with Marie Elise Hufnagel and Tabea Antonacci, SomoS, Berlin, March 2024
Reise: A Poetic History of German Missionaries and First Nation Australians, poetry reading by Wiradjury poet Alison J. Barton, presenting some of the language-infused paintings we collaborated on, and Q&A moderated by Australian curator, Nicole Beck, SomoS, Berlin, Feb. 2024
Private Party, collaborative sculpture with driftwood artist, Tanya Bub, Victoria, BC, 2021
Selected Group Exhibitions
Haze.untitled Vol 001, Q Gallery, May 2024
Liberty & Sovereignty, 13th International Annual Juried Exhibition —Juror, Jamie Isaac, Chief Curator Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Gallery 110, Seattle, USA, 2023
TD Gallery Paint-In, juried community event, interactive public sculpture installation, Art Gallery Greater Victoria, Victoria, BC, 2023
Immigration, group-show of 9 artists — Juror, George Harris, artistic Director (artist fee received), Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George, BC, August 4 to October 9, 2023
Inside Out, 3-artists exhibition, Art@Bentall GAllery, Vancouver, BC, 2022
Sooke Fine Arts Show, Sooke, BC, 2022, 2021, 2019
Memorial. Monument. Movement. Artagainstracism.org, NJ, USA, 2021
Refuge, Group Exhibition, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2021
Summer Small Works Show, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, 2021
Somewhere in Time, Federation of Canadian Artists, Victoria, BC, 2021
Abstracted, Federationgallery, Vancouver, BC, 2021
Dreamscape, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2021
CLWAC 123rd Exhibition of Women's Art, The National Arts Club, New York City, 2020
Winter Small Works Show, Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, BC, 2020, 2019
Inside Out, three women artists exhibition, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2020
Crisis, Federationgallery, Vancouver, BC, 2020
Looking in-Looking Out, Federation of Canadian Artists, Victoria, BC, 2020
Challenge Crisis with Creativity, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2020
Out of the Silence, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2020
Summer Show & Sale, Victoria Arts Council, Victoria, BC, 2020
TD Gallery Paint-In, juried community art event, AGGV, Victoria, BC, 2019
Solstice Dreams—The Poetry of Winter, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, 2019
All Planet Earth Art Exhibition, Contemporary Art Gallery, Online, 2019
The Oak Bay Studio Tour, Oak Bay, BC, 2019
Sidney Fine Arts Show, Sidney, BC, 2019, 2018
Grants & Residencies
Hub Feenix, artist residency, Finland, October 2024
SomoS Art Space, artist residency, Berlin, January to March, 2024
Canada Council for the Arts -- artist grant for residency at SomoS including travel, collaborative performance and video project with budget for dancers and videographer, 2024
Community & Curatorial Art Projects
The Postcard Climate Project&Show—Community Visions of Sustainability, international participation of 600 artists, lead-organizer with another artist, Gage Gallery, Victoria, BC, exhibition February/March 2022
Challenge Crisis with Creativity— our Community coping with Covid through Art project & show, 300 pieces of art/120 participants, lead organizer, Gallery, Victoria, BC, April to June, 2020
Workshops and other Professional Activities
Zen Meets Creative, weekend-workshop exploring mindfulness practices and authentic painting in collaboration with Dr. Phil. Xiaoqing Xu, therapist and lecturer, Berlin, at Kulturhaus Steinfurth, Karlsburg, Germany
Playful Painting, offering of a painting workshop at Plum Village Monastery, France, 2023
Storied Bodies, art-catalogue with essay by historian and author Rachel Hope Clever, published January 2023
The Necessity of Taking Risks, art workshop, Opus Live Art Series, Victoria, BC, February 2020
Education
MA Political Science from LMU University, Munich, Germany
Early Career
Worked 20 years in journalism for German publications and book projects
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