A Flower, a Surface, a Living Memory
A yellow lily curves toward us against a blue ground, its petals assembled from shapes that reveal the quiet character of wood. Nearby, red ladybirds bring a small spark of life. In Gabriella Blakey’s Lily and The Ladybirds, the precision of marquetry meets the tenderness of a natural subject.
Gabriella likes the feeling of wood as she works. For her, the material carries a long human story: trees gave us fire, the wheel, and surfaces on which to paint and write. Working with veneer allows her to feel part of that classical tradition while creating a visual language of her own.
From Rome to a New Language
Born and brought up in Rome, Gabriella absorbed the classical world from childhood. That early immersion shaped her imagination and led to studies in life drawing, graphic design, and poster art.
Life and work took her through Paris, London, and Edinburgh before bringing her to Oxford. There, she joined the Oxfordshire Craft Guild and became a gallery lecturer at the Ashmolean Museum, finding inspiration in art and exquisite objects across centuries and cultures.
Since 2005, Gabriella has embraced marquetry, cutting and layering wood veneer to create sharper edges and a more graphic image. The process allows her to explore a compelling tension between the delicacy of her subjects and the precision required to bring them into being.
Nature Reimagined Through Craft
In The Rose, pink petals and green leaves emerge against a gold leaf background. Each piece contributes to the flower’s unfolding presence, while the warm ground gives the image a luminous intimacy.
Yellow Parrot Tulip offers a bolder encounter. Yellow petals edged and interrupted by red and green rise against darkness, with a winged insect suspended nearby. The composition makes the flower’s movement feel vivid, even as the carefully joined material reveals the patience of its making.
For art lovers and collectors, Gabriella’s works invite two kinds of looking at once: an appreciation of the image and a curiosity about the material that holds it. Gabriella Blakey brings these pleasures together with warmth, allowing wood to become a place where memory, craft, and the beauty of the living world meet.
Contact the artist: gabriellablakey.co.uk
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