Biography Sally Gehl

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Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Sally Gehl has a B.A. in fine arts with a concentration in painting from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where she now lives. In addition to painting, she also studied drawing and printmaking under such well-known Pittsburgh artists as Herb Olds. After her graduation in 1991, she opened "The Art Loft" studio in Mt. Lebanon where she creates her art and gives private instruction. Sally is a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Society of Artists where she has served on the Board of Directors of both organizations. She has exhibited at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, the Three Rivers Arts Festival, The Andy Warhol Museum, the Frick Gallery of the University of Pittsburgh, the Regina Gouger Miller Gallery of Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museum of Art. She is an active part of the Pittsburgh art community.

Over the years, Sally Gehl has explored several conceptual and stylistic paths, while always returning to certain themes which are recurrent throughout her work. In her drawings as well as her paintings, she has often used everyday, common objects as subjects. Often, this includes domestic items, commercial products, clothing, and other objects that define our relationship to the larger society. She feels that, when they are the focus of a work of art, they reveal themselves as having an unexpected grandeur. In her figurative paintings, she has focused on small, candid moments where the subject is unposed and unaware of being observed. Printmaking (especially etchings and monoprints) has also been an integral part of her body of work.

Sally Gehl has also used assemblages as a format for some of her more conceptual pieces. Her interest in gender stereotypes and how our image-saturated culture constantly surrounds us with messages and expectations (overt and covert) about our ideal selves has been the impetus for many of her assemblages, as well as her other pieces. She continually returns to clothing as subject matter due to its status as a cultural marker with inherent references to gender, class, time and social customs. While exploring these modern and post-modern themes, she has always remained committed to classical technique and a more traditional aesthetic. This combination of rigorous technique and reflection on modern themes has always defined her work.