Gina Kalabishis

'Kalabishis draws on the philosophy of Gaston Bachelard, who described Les Chemins du Désir—paths created by instinct and necessity. In her paintings, these desire lines become metaphors for the choices we make, consciously or not, in shaping our environment. Her work explores the tension between personal longing and collective responsibility. The birds she depicts in her paintings are not solely ornamental; they exhibit signs of distress, displacement, and vulnerability. Their habitats—once vibrant forests, bushlands, and woodlands—are rendered in desaturated tones, echoing the fading memory of what once was.'
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Tim Dolby 2025

'Kalabishis’s compositions operate on two levels – the background plane renders loosely painted romantic landscapes, often hazy and softly focused. On the frontal plane are intricately detailed still life ensembles of native botanical specimens. Drawn to collecting flowers, leaves, blossoms, and branches during her walks around the environs of her Melbourne home, or during her residencies in regional New South Wales, she creates floral bundles that are tied together and hung in her studio to be photographed and later painted onto linen or paper. Her painstakingly painted specimens and keenly observed native wildlife are the central features of these compositions, competing for attention in the foreground.'
Excerpt from Artist Profile article by Victoria Hynes 2022

'I recently visited Gina's studio and stood in front of dozens of her paintings and drawings. I found myself wanting to stroke the bats' graphite fur, the pollen-filled fuzz of the bees' hind legs. I want to look at the gang gang with as much intensity as he looked at me. Gina's birds and bats have a frank gaze and those of us who love cockatoos (despite their naughtiness), and the grey-headed flying foxes of Yarra Bend park know the truth of this; that these birds and bats are curious, chatty and playful. However, Gina also captures their sleepy private faces, their vulnerability. Bats (like birds, like butterflies) are being squeezed into diminishing habitats. Bats' leathery wings give them grief on hot days and flying fox colonies have been moving further and further south in a vain attempt to avoid heat waves. In these COVID times the flying fox has become associated with disease and is persecuted as a result.'
Excerpt from catalogue essay by Sophie Cunningham 2021

READ: Gina Kalabishis 'Memento' reviewed in Artist Profile

READ: Gina Kalabishis 'Memento' reviewed in Neos Kosmos