Sow Series

A Bold Reflection on Persistence and Force

Gina Keatley’s Sow Series delves into the raw, physical exertion and tension inherent in the human experience, expressed through her signature circular, stabbing motions across the canvas. While the title may evoke images of planting and growth, this series transcends nature, emphasizing the intense labor, struggle, and force required to make progress in any endeavor.

Keatley’s works, such as Coal Petals, Stonewashed Stillness, and Spiral Surge, embody the relentless energy of creation. Each piece captures a different facet of the human struggle—whether it’s the subtle endurance of time in Stonewashed Stillness or the aggressive, swirling energy in Spiral Surge. The bold contrasts between deep blacks, earthy browns, and vibrant splashes of oranges and pinks create a visual rhythm of tension and release, evoking both physical and emotional persistence.

Her textured brushstrokes and repetitive circular marks—whether forceful or restrained—highlight the laborious process of creation, with each piece bearing the weight of its making. The focus on these stabbing motions represents an emotional intensity, a portrayal of the grit and determination it takes to carve out space in the face of resistance.

Keatley’s Sow Series serves as a metaphor for the struggle embedded in progress, where every stroke speaks to the relentless motion required for growth. It conveys not only the act of working through resistance but also the emotional and psychological weight carried in each motion. Through this series, Keatley invites the viewer to engage with the art on a visceral level, feeling the force and tension in every piece—a narrative of growth born from persistence.

In this series, Keatley delivers a powerful commentary on the human condition—marked by struggle, driven by perseverance, and ultimately reflecting the beauty of resilience through forceful, deliberate creation.

Coal Petals
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 48 inches x 48 inches
Sale Price: $4,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Stonewashed Stillness – acquired!
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 48 inches x 48 inches
Sale Price: $4,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Spiral Surge
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 48 inches x 48 inches
Sale Price: $4,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Rooted Flow
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 36 inches x 48 inches
Sale Price: $3,300 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Radiant Tension
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 36 inches x 48 inches
Sale Price: $3,300 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Remote Canopy – acquired!
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 24 inches x 24 inches
Sale Price: $2,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Surge of Bloom
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 24 inches x 24 inches
Sale Price: $2,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Vibrant Soil
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 24 inches x 24 inches
Sale Price: $2,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Nocturnal Currents
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 24 inches x 24 inches
Sale Price: $2,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

Hidden Strata
Year of Creation: 2024
Medium: Acrylic
Dimensions: 24 inches x 24 inches
Sale Price: $2,600 USD
Edition Type: Unique, 1 of 1
Current Location: New York, NY, USA

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Gina Keatley Reflects on the Sow Series

The Sow Series is about effort—about the force it takes to move something forward when progress is not gentle. I was thinking about labor in its truest sense: physical, emotional, and internal. These works are built through repetitive, circular, almost stabbing motions—gestures that carry weight, resistance, and insistence.

While the word “sow” suggests planting, this series is less about growth as an outcome and more about the strain required to initiate it. Each mark records pressure. Each surface holds evidence of work done again and again, without guarantee. The palette—deep blacks, earthen browns, punctuated by sharp oranges and pinks—mirrors that tension between restraint and release.

Some pieces move quietly, holding endurance over time. Others push aggressively, spiraling and surging against their own limits. Together, they speak to persistence not as patience, but as action—showing up repeatedly, applying force, and accepting friction as part of creation.

This series honors the reality that progress is rarely smooth. It is driven, physical, and sometimes uncomfortable. The beauty lives in that effort—in the refusal to stop, even when resistance remains.

— Gina Keatley, Artist