Gemma Gené
Gemma Gené is a visual artist from Barcelona, Spain, based in Los Angeles. She was trained as an architect and moved to the United States to earn a Master in Advanced Architectural Design at Columbia University. In 2014 immediately upon graduation she joined Steven Holl Architects until she focused on developing her artistic studio work.
She is an award winning painter and published author. Her work focuses on wrapped objects and foil balloons. The series “unapologetic paintings” is a collection of paintings, sculptures and street art of wrapped objects. In this series the object is hidden and the only thing showing is it’s skin or it’s wrapping and it can only be revealed by the user’s imagination. The paper used for wrapping is a reflective material that hides the object and reflects its surroundings, including the viewer.
Her work has been shown in New York at Sotheby’s, Voltz Clarke Gallery, the Accessible Art Fair at the National Art’s Club, and Figment New York amongst others and in Barcelona at Swab and the Palo Alto Foundation. She is represented by Voltz Clarke Gallery.
Her work has been published in medias like the NY Post, Artnet, Archdaily, The Jealous Curator, Blouin Art, Create! Magazine, Fresh Paint Magazine amongst others.
She is best known for her online comic 157ofgemma where she narrates in an ironic fashion her life with her inseparable pug Mochi that has a very strong following on social media.
Exhibitions
Current
CLEAN, Voltz Clarke Gallery, September 2025
Past
AD Art Show, Mvvo Art, May 2023
KIKSTART, Voltz Clarke Gallery, February 2021
AD Art Show, Mvvo Art, May 2019
Solo show, Voltz Clarke Gallery, December, Palm Beach 2018
Swab Art Fair, September 2018, Barcelona
SCOPE, March 2017 8th – 11th, 2018, New York
AD Art Show, Sotheby’s, February 2018, New York
Superfine! Art Fair, December 7th to 10th 2017, Miami
Swab Art Fair, September 2017, Barcelona
What’s new what’s next, Voltz Clarke Gallery, September 14th, New York 2017
Solo show, Voltz Clarke Gallery, September 13th, New York 2017
An evening of Art and Design, Curated by Saatchi Art, MiMa New York, March 2017
Superfine!, New York, May 2017
Group show, “Camino a Sefarad”, Madrid, 2016
Art Fair, Accessible Art Fair, National Arts Club, NY, November 1-25 2016
Group show, Bombay Artisan Series semi finalist, Rush Arts, NY, 2016
Solo Show,”Coses que penso mentre faig gaspatxo” (what I think while I make gazpacho), Palo Alto Fundation, Barcelona, 2016
Group exhibition , Curated by Shawn James, The Greenpoint Gallery, NY, 2016
Group Film Festival, Elvis Zapp Film Festival, Curated by EZUFF, Spectrum Space, NY, 2015
Solo Exhibition, GSAPP FS//SS Noodloo, Curated by Imagination Space, Imagination Space, New York, NY, 2014, Group Project (Gabriel Calatrava, Eileen Chen, Gemma Gené, Dan Luo, Madeeha Merchant, Rashad Palmer, Rebecca Riss, Anna Vander, Margaux Young, Jenny Yuan Lin)
Solo Exhibition, GSAPP FS//SS Noodloo, Curated by Figment, New York, NY, 2014, Group Project (Gabriel Calatrava, Eileen Chen, Gemma Gené, Dan Luo, Madeeha Merchant, Rashad Palmer, Rebecca Riss, Anna Vander, Margaux Young, Jenny Yuan Lin)
Group exhibition, visual arts, Curated by Columbia University, Prentis Hall, New York, NY., 2013.
Group exhibition, AAD GSAPP studio, Curated by Bernard Tschumi, Avery Hall, New York, NY., 2013
Relevant Publications
“Pugpyhood”, author, Published by Andrews McMeel 2021
“Living with Mochi”, author, Published by Andrews McMeel 2022
“Mi vida con Mochi”, author, Published by Editorial Planeta 2018
Relevant Media features
Film and TV
”California live”, NBC, September 2023
“Latinas”, CUNY Tv, September 2020
“Gemma Gené”, Emmy Award winning documentary directed by Carmen Vidal, 2019
“Acá entre nos”, Univisión, August 2019
“Nueva York”, CUNY Tv, February 2019
Good Morning America, December 2019
Good Day New York, December 2019
Little things, January 2017
Paper
“Dos chihuahuas los protagonistas de una urbanización en Calafell”, Diari de Tarragona, November 2023
“Me gustaria llenar el mudo de Mochis”, Diari de Tarragona, August 2022
“Bark at the ‘toon”, by Jane Ridley, New York Post, December 2019
“Alexa”, New York Post, December 2017
“The shadow of structure”, EZUFF, by Andrew McNair, 2014
Books
“New York Street Art” by Lois Stavsky, Document Press, 2022
“How to Make your dog famous”, by Loni Edwards, 2021
“The shadow of structure”, ABSTRACT, GSAPP Columbia University, 2014
“Noodloo”, ABSTRACT, GSAPP Columbia University, 2014
“X-Gram 2014” Studio X GSAPP, 2014
Digital
“Whimsical Metal Paintings and Drawings by Gemma Gené, March 2017
“Unapologetic Paintings”, Design Works, January 2017
“Realistic Aluminium-Like Paintings
on Wood” by Hoel, Fubiz January 2017
“A nice ridiculousness” by Laura Izquierdo, 3K art, January 2017
“Metal Gates Unfurl as Colorful Canvases on the Lower East Side” by Tamara best, The New York Times, Sept 2016
“All dog Owners Can Relate To Artist Who Documents Life With Her Dog” by Rachel Moss, Huffington Post, December 2016
“Accessible Art Fair Debuts in New York on Nov 1” Boulin Art, November 2016
“Wow! Gemma Gene”, The Why Not, by Carolin Samson, Germany 2016
“Gemma Gene”, The Jealous Curator, by Danielle Kriysa, Canada 2016
“Summer Soiree held by MvVO Art and Accessible Art Fair”, Lawlor media group, United States 2016
“Gemma Gené nos enseña las cosas en las que piensa… cuando hace gazpacho”, BCN Fashion Place, Spain 2016
“Brussels’s Accessible Art Fair Announces 60 Artists for First New York Edition” Artnet, by Sarah Cascone, United States 2016
“Nuevos graffitis de Konair y Gemma Gene en el muro Glorias” Evalop Graffitis, Spain 2016
“Las geniales inspiraciones carlinas de Gemma Gené (y su musa, Mochi)”, Sr Perro, by Micaela De La Maza, 2016
“Voting Polls Now Open For Annual Canvas Artist Series Competition”, Hyatt blog, by Allison Mack, 2015
“Figment's eighth edition got off to a sizzling start”, Artnet, by Sarah Cascone, June 2014
“Young Artists See Their Artwork on Wine Labels”, Please the Plate, by Allison Levine, 2014
“Hyatt and Folio Wine Announce Winners of 2013 Canvas Wine Label Contest” ArtHash, 2014
Grants and Awards
Roosvelt Island Operating Corporation, Public Art Finalist, New York 2019
Bombay Artisan Series finalist, Rush Arts, NY, 2017
Bombay Artisan Series finalist, Rush Arts, NY, 2017
First prize 2013 Canvas Artist Series Contest for the Canvas Wines Cabernet Sauvignon label, Chicago, IL.
2011 Barcelona City Council Architecture Grand.
2008 Second prize in the international contest for the design of the façade of the Pyrinées Department Store, Andorra.
Films
Screens, Animated short movie - in works
“The shadow of structure”, ABSTRACT, GSAPP, New York, 2015