Michelle Gagliano

Michelle Gagliano is an internationally exhibited American painter whose work explores the intersection of landscape, abstraction, materiality, and environmental awareness.

She studied painting at the University of North Texas under the influential artist Vernon Fisher before completing a BA in Painting with a minor in Art History at Plymouth State University. Nearly two decades later, she returned to higher education to complete a Master of Fine Arts degree at American University in Washington, D.C.

Gagliano's work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States and internationally, including exhibitions in Italy and representation abroad. She has undertaken residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and the Chautauqua School of Art, experiences that have further informed her material and conceptual development.

A recipient of the prestigious Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship, Gagliano has received recognition for both her artistic achievement and innovative studio practice. Her work is held in public, private, and corporate collections internationally, including exhibitions associated with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the William King Museum, and the American Embassy in Rome.

 

 

• MFA, American University, Washington D.C.
• BA Painting, Plymouth State University
• Studied under Vernon Fisher, University of North Texas

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowship Recipient
• Member, Gallery Climate Coalition

• Virginia Center for the Creative Arts
• Chautauqua School of Art

• Contemporary Painting
• Nature-Inspired Abstraction
• Sustainable Studio Practice
• Material Research
• Landscape and Light
• Ecological Awareness

• Public, private, and corporate collections internationally
• Exhibitions throughout the United States, Europe, and internationally

 

 

Michelle Gagliano occupies a distinctive position within contemporary painting, combining environmental awareness, material intelligence, and a profound sensitivity to the natural world. Through a practice grounded in sustainable methodologies and a deep reverence for landscape, she creates paintings that celebrate both the beauty of nature and our enduring connection to it. Her work reminds us that environmental stewardship begins not with solutions alone, but with attention, respect, and wonder