Kristy Gordon "As Above So Below"

Kristy Gordon is a Canadian-born artist who immigrated to New York City. Her paintings have been described by Galleries West as “contradictory and enigmatic scenes (that) unravel centuries of power relations and imagine a new future.” Gordon received an MFA from The New York Academy of Art in 2013 and a BFA from the Ontario College of Art and Design in 2011. She is an adjunct Professor at the New York Academy of Art. Her work has been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout Canada, the United States, Europe, and China at venues including the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain, the National Academy Museum, NYC, and Flowers Gallery, NYC. As a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, her paintings have won numerous awards and honors. She has received residencies at the Vermont Studio Center, Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, China; Shanghai University in China; OCAD University Florence, Italy; and has apprenticed with Odd Nerdrum in Norway and France. Gordon’s work and art writing have been featured in publications, including The Artist’s Magazine, International Artist and Fine Art Connoisseur. She has lectured and done painting demonstrations at venues including China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and Sotheby’s in New York City. Her paintings hang in more than 600 collections worldwide including the Government of Ontario Art Collection, The Clearing House (New York City) and Touchstones Nelson Museum of Art and History. Gordon is represented by Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York; Garvey|Simon in New York City; and de Montigny Contemporary in Ottawa, Canada.

“As Above So Below" reinterprets historical and mythological narratives through a feminist and intersectional lens, challenging authoritarian structures and reclaiming spaces traditionally dominated by masculine power. Inspired by Van Eyck’s Last Judgment, this vertical composition explores the upper, middle, and lower realms—not only as spiritual or psychological spaces but as reflections of contemporary struggles for justice and self-determination. At the center stands a female deity, flanked by figures in camouflage holding guns—a stark nod to systems of control and the forces that seek to suppress freedom. The diverse crowd, composed of my NYC community, represents solidarity across race, gender, and identity, emphasizing the collective fight for equality. By integrating global belief systems and reimagining what lies beyond the visible world, this work challenges viewers to reconsider who holds power, who gets to tell history, and what possibilities emerge when we reclaim our own narratives.” - Kristy Gordon