Michelle Gagliano’s First Monograph Published by Silvana Editoriale – Now Available
The Michelle Gagliano Studio is pleased to announce the artist’s first comprehensive monograph, Cultivating the Sublime, published by the internationally renowned publishing house Silvana Editoriale.
Curated and written by Julia Rajacic, independent curator and member of ICOM & GCC, the volume gathers Gagliano’s most recent works and delves into her alchemical, process‑based painting approach, which is deeply linked to the seasonality of the Virginia landscape where the artist lives and works. The publication is enriched with a foreword by Jeffrey Allison (Director of Statewide Programs and Exhibitions, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts) and Luigi Bravi (President of the Accademia Raffaello in Urbino).
Born in 1964 and raised on a farm, Gagliano developed an intimate relationship with the land and its cycles from childhood. In her paintings, fluid, organic forms give rise to contemporary icons that explore the Sublime, emotional landscapes, and the profound bond between human beings and the environment. Of Italian and Swedish origin, the artist has undertaken an intense study of Raphael and historic painting techniques, seeing the Renaissance not as a model to be cited but as a living language with which to engage critically.
The book therefore positions Gagliano within the continuum of art history, in dialogue both with the Renaissance and with Arte Povera, highlighting the uniqueness of a practice founded on process, ethics, and material awareness. It also documents her daily studio work: from the direct cultivation of natural elements to the creation of “zero‑kilometre” local pigments, revealing painting as a cyclical, ecological, and regenerative practice.
The monograph appears at a crucial moment in Gagliano’s career, following her solo exhibition at Casa Raffaello in Urbino, and coincides with a new phase of artistic maturity marked by the artist’s sixtieth birthday and over forty years of practice. The volume accompanies a growing institutional recognition of her work, including recent museum acquisitions such as the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and her first appearance at auction.
Produced in collaboration with Jardino, a Milan‑based creative agency dedicated to promoting sustainable transition through art, the monograph is not a conclusive retrospective but a precise and necessary articulation of a research that is more relevant than ever, situated at the intersection of painting, ecology, and responsibility toward the living world.
Michelle Gagliano. Cultivating the Sublime
Curated by Julia Rajacic
Forewords by Jeffrey Allison and Luigi Bravi
Bilingual Italian‑English edition, hard‑cover, 120 illustrations, 152 pages
Silvana Editoriale, 2026 – € 30