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During her time in Greece, McDaniel engaged deeply with the natural world and mythological narratives of both Greek and Chamorro origin. Early in her stay, she met and collaborated with three Greek sitters in Athens, whose stories and voices are woven into two of the works presented in this exhibition. “This is my first time painting on an island, and it feels special,” she says. “I paint outdoors, surrounded by wind, sand, and water. The show feels more elemental than any I’ve made before.”Greek and Pacific mythologies became sources of reflection and reinvention—stories of Galatea and Pygmalion, Demeter and Persephone, Circe, Ariadne, Medea, and Sirena, the young girl who becomes a mermaid. For McDaniel, these myths are not fixed tales of punishment or virtue but living expressions of transformation, consequence, and resistance. In Pineptran Istreyas & Akhinos, they become bridges between worlds—between islands, between women’s voices across time.The landscape of Mykonos directly influenced both the palette and materials of McDaniel’s new works. She gathered shells from the shoreline, fishing nets from the sea, and jewelry from Athens flea markets—objects that she embedded, suspended, and wove into her paintings. These found elements form what she calls “a kind of ecosystem—alive and responsive.” Natural motifs—fire, rock, shell, wind, and water—course through the compositions, evoking vitality, resilience, and transformation.
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The exhibition also features an audio work that includes McDaniel’s own recorded story alongside those of others, continuing her practice of integrating sound into her paintings. As visitors move through the space, voices are activated by motion, dissolving the distance between artwork and witness.
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Gisela McDaniel, My body is my soul, 2025 -
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Gisela McDaniel, Feeling things is a different kind of power, 2025 -
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Gisela McDaniel, Always listening, 2025 -
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Gisela McDaniel, Being on the outside allows you to see the inside more clearly, 2025 -
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Gisela McDaniel | Pineptran Istreyas & Akhinos: Pineptran Istreyas & Akhinos is the first solo exhibition in Greece by diasporic Indigenous Chamorro artist Gisela McDaniel (b. 1995, Bellevue, Nebraska). Created during her month-long residency on the island of Mykonos, this new body of work marks a vita
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